Anna Penenberg
Author Interview - Anna Penenberg
Author I draw inspiration from: As I wrote my first memoir Cheryl Strayed’s Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail was released. I took it in in one fell swoop. The journey was real and palpable, the emotions were splayed across the pages and I felt I came through something with Strayed’s skillful writing holding me up. I wanted to be like her, I even borrowed the arc of her story to craft mine! That version is no longer and my story has an arc of its own now, but I and many others were inspired by her work.
Author Interview - Anna Penenberg
Favorite place to read a book: I like to be alone, preferably outside and maybe tucked into my hammock. The soothing quiet allows me to relax and climb farther into the story I’m reading. I like to hold the physical book in my hands and feel its body while I am fed the story with my eyes. This makes it a real experience, a movie I am living in with all my senses.
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: It just happened to me. I was going along in my life, a long-time person journal writer, when my life became severely challenged with an ill child. I wrote every day in my journals, I pondered making a documentary film of what our lives had become because I thought no one would believe it. Having no skills and no real contacts for such a timely project, I continued to write privately. I eventually realized that if I put the many pieces together I would have a story told. I took my first writing class and wow did I love it! This was my very naïve entrée into becoming a memoir author.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: I love to hold the story, feel the pages turning and occasionally underline my favorite parts, although I don’t readily admit to this. I’ll take hardback if I can’t get paperback when I can’t wait to read the book. I shy away from ebooks as I find I am not as present, it reminds me of working on my computer. But audiobook can be its own kind of heaven. Being read to is divine, as long as I like the voice and believe the intimate connection to the writing. Listening to an author reading their own book can be quite inspirational.
The last book I read: In these times self-care is a precious skill to have as we ride the waves of change in our world. The following memoirs provide new skills and models for our human well-being. Big Wild Love by Jill Sherer Murray, shows us how to let go of being stuck, afraid and alone and foster the big wild love of relationship with self. The Way Through Chronic Pain by Elizabeth Kipp, gives us her story and techniques for alleviating suffering and supporting a life of being well. Raw by Bella Mahaya Carter, takes us through her quest for health and happiness. Exploring body, mind and spirit she transforms anxiety. In Brave New Medicine by Cynthia Li, shares her recovery from an auto-immune illness through discovering the body’s innate intelligence, revealing an alternative path to wellness.
Author Interview - Anna Penenberg
Favorite artist: Georgia O’Keefe
Her paintings of flowers and landscapes are places I can rest myself. I can feel her deep and meditative connection with nature, gazing at her work opens my heart with the grace of the feminine. I love her use of color and the different palates she works with.
Number one on my bucket list: To contribute to the betterment of human consciousness in our current world. I would like to continue to bring out the tools that allow people to self-regulate, be kind and tolerate love and balance in our world.
Anything else you'd like to add: I am ever grateful to my readers for taking the journey, as their experiences with my story have been heartfelt and vast.
Author Interview - Anna Penenberg
