Memoirist Margaret Dulaney On Writing About the Struggle Between Hope & Despair

Parables of Sunlight is a gorgeous memoir about leaving Manhattan after 18 years and buying an abandoned farm in Pennsylvania. Taking on one hundred acres of neglected farmland, she and her husband discovered a rich community of both animals, and people. Especially now, after months of difficult times for us all, it is hard to have hope. But Margaret is the perfect voice to encourage us all to keep fighting for it.

Your book, The Parables of Sunlight, is a memoir that revolves around a farm, and an injured horse. Why did you choose to write about this?

I chose this story because I wanted to explore the theme of the battle between hope and despair. The story is from a period in my middle years when my husband and I took ownership of a neglected farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The central figure in the book is an abandoned and injured horse whose life hangs in the balance for many months. At the time this mirrored other battles of a similar intensity in other facets of my life, my mother for instance, who was in a battle with late stage Alzheimer’s disease. I hope the book touches on a universal theme, one to which many can relate.

 Have you drawn any conclusions from your exploration of this subject?

I think we go wrong when we say of any situation, “This shouldn’t be happening.” It is happening, and we must find our way through. I suspect that our greatest work is in our willingness to walk alongside one another through difficult passages. The metaphor of my walking alongside my horse through months and months of rehabilitation had a formative and lasting effect on me.

What would you say it was that you learned?

I think it was a lesson in the great arts of hope and perseverance. I am in the business of hope. This is what I try and offer my listeners who visit Listen Well every month. Hope isn’t a luxury; it is a necessity. Like water, we cannot live without hope. Perseverance, however, is something that we can take up or toss away at any time. The choice is ours. The issue is, so little is accomplished without some sort of stick-to-it-ness. Most good things, most goals, most efforts to change require a measure of perseverance. Before this period in my life I didn’t see the true value of this quality, I was too willing to give up.

But how can you tell if you are persevering in the right direction? Might you be fighting for something that is not worth your fighting for?

I understand this dilemma. Maybe the best way to distinguish whether a choice is right for you or not is if it brings you life. We’re given choices every day to either embrace life or turn from life. Some choices bring us more passion for our lives and others block our life force. Do not confuse this with right and wrong, yes or no. Sometimes a “no” can be life-affirming, a “yes” can be life-denying. No, I don’t want that third Scotch, yes, I do need to leave this corrosive relationship. Sometimes the choices take a good deal of study before they can be decided upon, but most of us have an intuitive understanding of what will bring us life and what will not.

 You use the metaphor of a good teacher to illustrate this guidance. Why did you choose this?

I hoped to focus and solidify the idea of divine aid. Everyone will experience this a little differently. The ways in which others experience the divine are intriguing to me. I love people’s stories of transcendence and guidance.

 Your book is filled with stories involving animals. What is your connection to animals?

I have always felt that the animal kingdom has much to teach us. A flock of birds for instance, with its ability to fly in unison, as if they shared one mind, is a beautiful metaphor, never satisfactorily explained by science. If we have guidance from above, which I heartily believe we do, then an animal is a perfect tool of manipulation. My dogs have introduced me to some of my closest friends. My horse has the ability to deliver a sense of peace to me unlike any other. There is much that is mystical about our connection to the animals.

Is there anything that you learned by your exploration of the battle between hope and despair that surprised you.

I suspect that most of us, if we could see our past as the heavenly beings do, would be astonished at the measure of hope we carry through life. We would be amazed at our courage, the perseverance we have shown. I know that before I wrote this book, I believed that I was far too ready to throw in the towel and give up, but looking at my history I can see the thread of hope woven through my story. I encourage everyone to try and look for this thread. It is always there.

MARGARET DULANEY a playwright and essayist, and founder of the spoken word website Listenwell.org. Culled from a lifetime’s study of the ancients and mystics of all traditions, Margaret’s writings employ the ideas of Emerson, Lao Tzu, Hafiz, George MacDonald, Richard Rohr, Emanuel Swedenborg, Lorna Byrne, Marcus Aurelius, Shakespeare, Rudolph Steiner and many others.  

In 2010 Margaret founded the open faith, spoken word website ListenWell.Org. Each month Listen Well posts one ten-minute, professionally recorded essay designed to puzzle out a spiritual theme through story and metaphor. Listeners vary from practicing Buddhists to open-minded Christians, from those struggling to find a working tradition to those who are happy with their practice. Margaret records her writings at Maggie’s Farm recording studios in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. 

Learn more about Margaret Dulaney at  www.listenwell.org and connect with her on Facebook.

The Man with Half a Heart and the Kid from Brazil

by J.D. Netto

It’s a story every writer or reader will be fortunate to experience. Love, loss, hope, and the challenges of living with half a functioning heart. As an author, these things alone were enough to inspire me to pen this journey down.

I was no stranger to Paul Cardall’s music and journey. “Redeemer” graced my ears for the first time when I was on a trip to Seattle, Washington. I searched the internet for more information about the genius behind the song. Not only did I find an extensive library of music, but I found an even more enthralling tale.

After being approached by his team, a meeting was arranged for Paul and myself in New York City. Under a torrential storm, we met at a bar in Manhattan. I had heard it said that you should never meet your heroes because of how disappointing such encounters can be. Well, the tale suited this one. He was cheerful despite the struggles and achievements, humble even though billions had listened to his melodies. 

We talked about the ordinary and the miraculous. I was the Brazilian kid brought to America at a young age and he was the man born with half a functioning heart. That alone provided us hours of conversation—two forked roads that merged into a single path.

I joined him on a book research trip a few weeks later. As a first timer in Salt Lake City, the towering mountain peaks and breathtaking scenery sparked so many ideas for the story. Spending time with Paul brought clarity to what was to be truth and how fiction would enhance that truth. My phone was heavy with videos, photos, and notes of what eventually became the story that now belongs to the world.

But that was just the beginning of my own adventure. While locked up in my apartment in Massachusetts, I dissected not only the content I had gathered, but Paul’s diaries, articles, and videos. To my author-self, I was running through a luscious forest; every word a new fruit or creature I had never seen before. The best part, you ask? I got to turn them into characters and prose. The downfall? This was someone’s life entrusted to me.

Paul and I grew from acquaintances to friends. How could we not? The adventure led us down a path where we got to know one another fast. He’d read the drafts of my chapters and would find truth in them. Even the fictional moments sparked clarity in situations where doubt had dwarfed reason. 

And so, the journey continued. Writing, rewriting, editing, repeating. Draft turned to story and story turned to book. Copies were slowly distributed to industry friends and beta readers. All embraced the journey. The tears I shed as a writer were now shed by the reader. My heart, once heavy as words found paper, was now beating with anticipation as more joined the journey of the man with half a heart.

Inspiration continued to spread, quietly, swiftly. An album with songs inspired by the novels was suddenly in the works. Then music videos. And the scenes I had worked on had become the fuel behind melody and lyric. Seeing names like Paul Cardall, David Archuleta, and Tyler Glenn on a project connected with my own work was (and still is) surreal.

And now here you are, the reader, invested in my words and tale. This is but a brief summary of the journey. Perhaps I’ll share the full tale someday. But as of right now, The Broken Miracle awaits your eyes and your heart.

Laugh like Paul. Think like Jonahs. Believe like Olivia.

J.D. Netto is a fiction author known mostly for his fantasy titles that have captivated readers across the globe. His works include The Whispers of the Fallen series and Henderbell: The Shadow of Saint Nicholas. His new book The Broken Miracle: Part One of the Broken Miracle Duology, will be released February 2. Learn more about Netto and The Broken Miracle by visiting thebrokenmiracle.com

How Do You Write An Authentic Courtroom Scene? Ask A Lawyer

by Howard T. Scott

If it bleeds, it leads. We tend to want to hear about the blood and gore of a situation. Bad news sells -- but in regards portraying the legal profession, oftentimes being “realistic” equals something that’s just plain not interesting. The courtroom is a popular setting, a great fit for books and movies. But, the results are frequently inaccurate.  

Anyone remember the name Ted Stevens? Ted was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1968-2009. In 2008, he was embroiled in a federal corruption trial while he ran for reelection to the Senate. He was found guilty of failing to properly report gifts and eight days later he was narrowly defeated at the polls. A year later, in 2009, the indictment was dismissed, but the damage had already been done. Ted died in a plane crash in 2010, disgraced after having been run out of office. It was only after his death that a report was released finding widespread prosecutorial misconduct.

In real life, most little guys, they don’t stand a chance. Even those with millions of dollars can be behind the eight ball. Your reputation is gone and five years later, they may dismiss the case and you’re out, broke, humiliated and disgraced. But that’s not how it plays out in books and on the big screen, is it?

Plaintiff Power: Courtroom Fact Vs. Fiction 

We all love a good David Vs. Goliath story. It feels good to root for the little guy. In the real world, however, it’s rare that a plaintiff can pierce the evidence shield on a terribly uneven playing field where defendants have unlimited funds to do whatever they want. Defense attorneys routinely hire all the experts they need to carve out an exception to every aspect of a client’s case. They virtually have unlimited funds to do whatever they want. On the other hand, that is also the case when the federal government is in the role of prosecutor.  

When you have total power and resources at your disposal in a case, the little guy can get crushed. That’s why people often offer guilty pleas to crimes they don’t commit -- totally ruined and totally innocent.

Objection! Movie Misconduct

Writers and filmmakers have the power to create fairy tales where the little guy or underdog we talked about emerges victorious and beats a big corporation. It makes everyone feel good, but it’s not reality.

What movie misses the mark? “The Verdict,” with Paul Newman comes to mind. The 1982 movie’s screenplay was written by David Mamet, adapted from Barry Reed’s novel of the same name. Newman’s character, attorney Frank Galvin, is an alcoholic with a struggling practice and checkered past. He finds himself representing a comatose woman’s sister and brother-in-law who are suing for medical malpractice after the victim choked on her own vomit during childbirth and was left in a vegetative state due to hospital error. It’s a good hook, right?  

So, the plot thickens when Frank stumbles upon a witness who is being bought off by the hospital. It’s a plot-changing development and makes for great cinema. In real life, though, it’s rare that a culprit hospital is revealed so dramatically in a blatant lie or cover-up. Almost always, everything has been reduced to affidavits and sworn testimony way ahead of time so the fact that a surprise witness surfaces at the last minute almost never occurs. It’s a fantasy to think that justice would really prevail against a big corporate entity.  

On Writing The Lawyer’s Life  

You know, as writers we are tasked with balancing what will be a good read (and what will sell) as opposed to what the reality is. There’s a big difference between writing a truthful, realistic courtroom scene but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be popular with the public. Quite often that means you must compromise a little bit to strike the right balance.  

How can we write a compelling story without selling out and creating a tall tale with no basis in fact? This is the same lesson or morality play that I deal with, and it’s why I left the practice of law to write a novel about lawyers instead, Rascal on the Run. It’s all a big circle conundrum.  

Howard T. Scott mastered the nuances of the courtroom scene through initially working in his father’s law office at the young age of thirteen. He worked as a criminal defense attorney for seven years in his native Athens, Ga, and then transitioned to working in civil litigation. Howard’s murder-suspense novel, RASCAL ON THE RUN, is the ficitonalized tale of actual cases navigated by Howard and his late father, the late attorney Guy Scott.