Why Secret Garden?

When I was little, about 5 or 6, I was a voracious reader. The first real book I remember reading, and was encouraged to read, was The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It had an enormous impact on me - the little orphan girl in the lonely countryside home. As in my own real life, there were secrets, sadness, unsympathetic adults, and a healing, hidden garden. Those images burned into my imagination and have stayed with me all these years, with a talismanic quality. Better yet, I learned the power of books. Reading has been one of my greatest lifelong sources of pleasure. I still prefer it to almost any other form of entertainment. Reading begets writing. Writing builds on memories and reaches for connection with others. I hope to connect with whomever reads this "blog" at the level of the heart and the mind. Here we go!