J. Gardner Hurd

49 Years Ago Yesterday

April 19, 1975. Some people remember dates that changed their lives forever. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not. You don’t always know at the time what the effect of that event will be. On April 19, 1975, one of my high school friends invited me to her boyfriend’s house for a party. It was myContinue reading “49 Years Ago Yesterday”

What Hurts the Most

I turned 67 this week. In the big scheme of things, turning 67 isn’t a particularly important milestone. But for me, it is. I am now older than Bruce will ever be. He died a little more than a month before his 67th birthday and it gives me a very odd feeling. He always usedContinue reading “What Hurts the Most”

Thanks to Gen Z

So I published a book and that means I’m learning a lot about the book publishing industry. It wasn’t something I focused much on when I was writing and rewriting and rewriting again. Then I got caught up in the world of sending out query letters to publishers and agents, hoping against hope that someoneContinue reading “Thanks to Gen Z”

My First Published Book

My first book is being published this week. Phew. Two and a half years of writing, rewriting, editing, proofreading, rewriting and revising again and again, hoping to get every word, every feeling just right. Of course it’s not perfect. The last read through I found so many things I wish I could change but atContinue reading “My First Published Book”

My first book

Well, it’s been a ride. I started writing this story in 2020 but it’s a story that I’ve really been writing my whole life. I wrote it two years after my mother died, seventeen years after my father died, started it when Bruce was first diagnosed with throat cancer and finished it almost two yearsContinue reading “My first book”

The Day After Mother’s Day

So, yesterday was Mother’s Day. It’s not an easy day for me, never has been. My mother and I definitely had, to say it kindly, a fraught relationship. For years, I’ve been so envious, jealous even, of friends who have great relationships with theirs. To the point where on those mother-related holidays, I didn’t wantContinue reading “The Day After Mother’s Day”

So, I’m publishing a book!

So there, naysayers in my head. My book, Always Forward, has been accepted for publication by All Things That Matter Press. I don’t know when it will be published, but at some point, in the not too distant future, my words, my sweat, and my heart will be in print for other people to actuallyContinue reading “So, I’m publishing a book!”

Pathways

My house is almost completely packed and I move in a week. I am living amidst boxes and rolled up carpets and a somewhat disturbed cat. As I move about these rooms that I’ve lived in for almost twenty-five years, I pause here and there to remember. Remember when Bruce discussed his plans for buildingContinue reading “Pathways”

Downsizing

That’s the next step on the agenda isn’t it? Going through forty-six years of accumulated possessions, mementos, pictures, stuff. More than forty-six years when you think about my childhood things, my family’s things. I was going to say family heirlooms but they have no value to anyone outside the family, like my grandmother’s diaries datingContinue reading “Downsizing”

Memories Redux

I find myself remembering more and more every week, or I should say re-remembering. It’s been just about a year since Bruce died and for a long time I found it hard to picture his face as it used to be. Neck cancer and its subsequent surgeries and treatments took their toll, although he alwaysContinue reading “Memories Redux”