Margaret Thompson is an aspiring writer, working on her first book: a biography that tells the story of her son’s life, travels, addictions, and early death. Margaret’s loss of her son was the catalyst for her writing, and she is now exploring writing poetry and prose. Margaret will be 80 years old in April, proving that youth is not the only time one can enter the beautiful world of literature.
Margaret has lived a varied and interesting life. She grew up in Michigan, and her first work efforts were waitressing and working as a phone operator at Michigan Bell. She went on to attend college at Eastern Michigan University, at that time called Michigan State Normal. Married with two sons and one daughter, Margaret went on to become a real estate agent. After her daughters graduated, Margaret divorced her husband, who was dependant on alcohol.
Life went on, and Margaret tried her hand at a variety of careers, but she became unemployed at age 63 and was turned down for a drafting job due to her age. Instead of giving in, Margaret designed a scarf called “L’Escarfe,” and at age 64 had started her own internet business called Scarves by Margaret. Among her collection there is a turban that she specially designed for cancer patients.
It is at this point that Margaret turned to writing. May 29th, 2009, her son died, and he left behind a life filled with voyages and a half-written book about them. Margaret decided to take up the mission of finishing his special book, turning it into a biography about her son’s life and his experiences in India, Afghanistan, Iran, Sri Lanka, and other exotic places.
The book is not yet titled, and it is still undergoing the writing and editing process. The book will be in two parts: the section written by her son, and the section written by Margaret herself.
Margaret likes to read novels, particularly those by the philosophical writer Ayn Rand, and historical novels. Her youngest daughter is a professor at the College of Charleston. Margaret is the proud grandmother of 6 and great-grandmother of 2. She is striving to learn more about writing, and she is also an avid oil painter! Her very first poem was written in less than fifteen minutes as a Writing Club prompt and was a great success with the club’s members. Along with her strong business background, Margaret obviously has a wonderful creative streak.
When asked how she felt about the negative view on aging among today’s youth, Margaret responded with, “are they too chicken for the challenge?” “What you learn is life,” she continued, putting modern movies and television at fault for the pessimistic outlook on growing older. “It is foolishness to not want to age,” Margaret said. From the history of her life and the new stories she is weaving, it seems that Margaret knows exactly what she is talking – and writing - about.
Congratulations, Margaret, on being the Writing Club’s very first Member of the Week!
This biography can also be found at http://thelushliterarylife.tumblr.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment