"After working for 21 years in the telecommunications industry and becoming an expert on customer service, I realized I wanted more. My first move was to a non-profit agency where my organizational skills could shine. Five years later funding problems developed and lay-off slips ensued. My next move was to a small radio station where my work day consisted of hosting the morning show, managing account receivables, processing daily logs, and my favorite – writing copy for commercial ads.
"While there, I also worked part-time at a local library, a women’s shelter, and began teaching monthly poetry classes at a senior living facility. Almost a decade later I had mastered just about every facet of broadcasting, yet, I still wanted more. So, I accepted a full-time sales job with a larger radio station and a short time later, a part-time mentoring position with an agency for at-risk teens. However, as challenging and fulfilling as those positions were, I yearned for more. Then I experienced a life-threatening health scare.
"During recovery, I had time to reflect on many things, including the feeling of always wanting more. That's when I realized it was time to pursue my passion for writing full time, and not just in the leftover hours of the day. After all, that passion was why five years earlier I had become an author. It’s why writing copy was one of my favorite responsibilities at the radio station. It's why my fondest memories of the time I spent with the at-risk teens were the journal and poetry sessions. And it's why no matter what was going on in my life, I never stopped teaching those writing classes at the senior living facility.
"Today I am living out my passion for writing. I find joy in pouring over the manuscripts (mostly handwritten) of senior citizens who are writing their memoirs. The thrill of helping them rekindle long forgotten memories, the pleasure of reading their stories, and the satisfaction of seeing those stories in print, is the more that I've been longing for.
PATRICIA MIDDLETON
"While there, I also worked part-time at a local library, a women’s shelter, and began teaching monthly poetry classes at a senior living facility. Almost a decade later I had mastered just about every facet of broadcasting, yet, I still wanted more. So, I accepted a full-time sales job with a larger radio station and a short time later, a part-time mentoring position with an agency for at-risk teens. However, as challenging and fulfilling as those positions were, I yearned for more. Then I experienced a life-threatening health scare.
"During recovery, I had time to reflect on many things, including the feeling of always wanting more. That's when I realized it was time to pursue my passion for writing full time, and not just in the leftover hours of the day. After all, that passion was why five years earlier I had become an author. It’s why writing copy was one of my favorite responsibilities at the radio station. It's why my fondest memories of the time I spent with the at-risk teens were the journal and poetry sessions. And it's why no matter what was going on in my life, I never stopped teaching those writing classes at the senior living facility.
"Today I am living out my passion for writing. I find joy in pouring over the manuscripts (mostly handwritten) of senior citizens who are writing their memoirs. The thrill of helping them rekindle long forgotten memories, the pleasure of reading their stories, and the satisfaction of seeing those stories in print, is the more that I've been longing for.
PATRICIA MIDDLETON
