Who Did We Think We Were?
Who Did We Think We Were is a blog collective of readers of the memoir, Swollen Appetite, who contribute stories inspired by the book.
A buck with fuzzy antlers crossed the path where Marissa and I were walking in the Mountainview Cemetery. We paused for the elegant beast to pass, unthreatened by the two middle-aged ladies’ presence. I said hello in my sweet-talking kitty-cat voice, then Marissa and I continued our discussion. I needed help promoting my memoir, Swollen Appetite, to new readers.
I worried that only a few smoldering embers of energy were left for pushing the book. Something had to be done before the fire went cold. Before I started moaning and groaning, Marissa mentioned that she had dropped her son off at SFO that morning, and for the first time, had not gone to the gate with him. He was ready to go without her, so off he went into the wild blue yonder, and to the next gate where his Dad would be waiting. I said, maybe my book is like Dean, on its own now, ready to go where it needs to go. But no more than my pal is ready to relinquish her son to the big old world, am I ready to stop trying to get Swollen Appetite in front of new readers.
The problem is not exhausting my friends while trying to reach a broader audience. Every relationship I’m in is a throuple: me, my anxiety, and the other. I know I’m a rich dish. But lucky for me, I have patient friends, and Marissa had some good ideas! She noted that as she read Swollen Appetite, she was transported back to her own experience of living in San Francisco in the 1990s. It was more than nostalgic, it was evocative. She marveled at who she was then. I’ve heard this from others as well. That sweetness, that connection keeps flowing back to me from readers.
The exciting idea Marissa came up with is to create a collective blog post like the one I had curated a few years ago on my website called Immigrant Song. I could ask readers of the memoir to submit their own stories and pictures about what memories or thoughts Swollen Appetite pried loose inside them. It could be about their time in San Francisco in the 1990s, or any other place they had been when they were on the cusp of becoming who they eventually became. Writing prompts could be anything from overwrought ambition, comedy, poetry, or music scenes to strange dates, or discovering new friends, jobs, or talents, and especially, unleashing unknown power.
Swollen Appetite can be the catalyst, which is what this writer has wanted all along. Brian came up with a name for the blog that nails the attitude of youth: Who Did We Think We Were? There’s a silky scar as long as time separating us from another version of ourselves. Stitches of seconds, minutes, and years knit a thicker skin over the past. We’ve survived youth. Not everyone does. We had dreams, relationships, ambition, and oh so many feelings: disdain, doubts, jealousy, joy, contention, and longing. Who did we think we were?
Write mother-fuckers write!
Please submit your personal stories of 500-850 words max, along with at least two pictures, to sandraaustinmello@gmail.com. And please tell your friends who haven’t read the book that it’s available in paperback and Audible. Can’t wait to read your contributions to our collective!
Next up: 1990s Karaoke Party at the Mel-o-dee Lounge in late September - stay tuned!