The Ubud Writers and Readers Festival is on this week. Writers from all around the world are sharing their stories, their passions and their strategies for writing. This afternoon, I sat with a young Indonesian woman, awaiting the start of a session. ‘What brings you here?,’ I asked, ‘Are you a writer?’ ‘Oh no,’ she said, ‘I’m only a reader.’
Only? Writers and readers need each other, to claim and challenge ideas, otherwise it’s a vacuum. Yet the festival panelists are all writers, and the readers make up the audience. Readers need to be heard too, not just as critics, but as part of a deeper conversation.
This blog is drawing to an end, as I to return home to New Zealand in a few weeks. Over the past year of my travels, I’ve appreciated being in your inbox twice a week, as well as receiving your comments.
I’m going home to help Baby Boomer women who want more from their lives. Some are feeling quietly desperate, stuck in a rut, while others are wondering how to start again after one of life’s inevitable wakeup calls. So many have told me they don’t know where to go next. My book, Living Bold, with stories of how women from around the world are creating fulfilling lives, will be published in February.
The new, weekly, Live Bold! blog will start mid November. You will receive it, as you’re subscribed here. I hope you’ll stay, but if it turns not to be your thing, you can unsubscribe. If you know a Baby Boomer woman who needs encouragement to Live Bold!, then send it on.
I’m working on the website update and will keep you posted. Thanks for your support!
Go Boldly!
Jenny