"We Leave the Flowers Where They Are."
SEELEY LAKE - Alpine Artisans' Open Book Club kicks off the new year with the presentation of an exciting collection of short stories from over 41 Montana women, titled "We Leave the Flowers Where They Are," Saturday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Grizzly Claw Trading Company in Seeley Lake. This remarkable collection was edited and curated by longtime memoir instructor and novelist Richard Fifield. Three of the anthology's contributors will be present to read and comment on their experience, along with editor Fifield.
Fifield presented his first novel "The Flood Girls" at the Open Book Club in 2019 and is about to release his next novel "The Small Crimes Of Tiffany Templeton" this spring. The idea for this project grew out of the memoir writing classes Fifield taught over years in Eureka and Missoula among other locations. Fifield said, "It's time to share these stories with a broader audience."
"Working with other writers has made my life richer and wider," said Missoula author Gladys Considine, 78, who has been in Fifeld's memoir critique group for five years. "Though we women live in similar times, each story I read broadens my outlook on life and gives me more understanding and further acceptance of differences."
The writing is remarkably honest and riveting, chronicling the lives of women from divergent backgrounds. We learn of heroic women overcoming strong odds, challenging nature and the mountains, managing family relationships on a ranch, young women and old – sharing some of the most powerful moments of their lives. We meet women struggling with drug addition, alcohol, domestic abuse and the law. As Fifield said, "Writing a memoir, telling your own story, changes everything."
Fifield's hope is that these memoirs will help other women to not feel alone or ashamed and to believe that change is possible. Reading this anthology of memoirs from a wide variety of Montana women, from Powder River to Eureka, is an exciting window into the intimate lives of women all around the Big Sky State. Their stories left me wanting to read more – much more!
The book was released during the September 2019 Montana Book Festival, and a portion of the book's proceeds will benefit two non-profit organizations - Zootown Arts Community Center (ZACC), an arts nonprofit based in Missoula and Humanities Montana, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) with offices around the state.
The Open Book Club author readings are free and everyone is welcome. Refreshments are served and books are available at the Grizzly Claw.
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