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So tempted to add a few images, but it's best to keep it simple.
Home Again.

The Preview Copy - Going, Going, Almost Gone!

RESURGAM
Standing on the Ground of Remembrance

by Jean A. Niedert

Remember them echoes through every generation, and against the standing stones of history. The two words transform into a presence that enters Sophy’s awareness, directs her attention to the darkness, and whispers, “Go there.”

Their existence glimmers in the dark realm of the unknown. It pulses with life and rests with death. The light of their story is a mystery, which leads to the ground of war. The power of remembrance illuminates their truth. They lived. They loved. They have a story to tell.

Resurgam (Latin) - I shall rise again.

***
There aren't many preview copies left to sell so I'm removing the book's promotion from the top of ground of remembrance. The preview copy isn't the final call for the book. I believe it will remain true to its title. RESURGAM.

Go there

There are 47 preview books of RESURGAM left to sell.
The rough draft to story 2 is complete.
Sophy is on new ground.
It's time to refine the focus, which is exploring the ground of remembrance. I arrived at this place - the ground of remembrance - because I responded to the subtlest of calls, "Remember them." The first 'call for remembrance' arrived in the form of a white business envelope standing against a black panel, the second call was a chance sighting seen during a short feature on local TV show, and the third was a letter published in a book. All three 'calls for remembrance' were created by the same man: Phil Woodall. He was the first guide who encouraged this writer to "go there." War was not somewhere I wanted to go, but I wanted to learn about Alpha Company so I began the journey.

The copy on the book's back cover, "The two words transform into a presence that enters Sophy's awareness, directs her attention to the darkness, and whispers "Go there."
When I self-published the preview copy of RESURGAM I thought I had wrapped up the story. The writer had gone there. The characters had gone there. None ran away. RESURGAM was complete. I was done. I avoided having to write Sophy out of home because I (the writer) decided she would land in Washington DC.

As I distributed the batch of "preview copies," I began receiving the next round of clues. I met new teachers and guides. When synchronicity unfolded with ease, I knew an opportunity arrived. I learned I had to return to "Home."* I (the writer) had left Sophy standing there. I pretended not to see this, tried to forget it, thought my original idea of placing Sophy into DC would work.

24 years ago on January 28, I turned away from a sight I didn't want to see. It didn't matter. Turning away doesn't make reality go away. Today someone reminded me of the book's foreword: Resurgam is the promise that out of ashes grows new life. It is the mysterious transformation that delivers love and new life when one remembers and responds. A transformation can take a long, long time.

*"Home" is a chapter in RESURGAM.

Crack in the Sidewalk

The tangle of roots above the ground had pushed against cement. The tree had grown beyond the boundaries created by the sidewalk.

The Beauty of Imperfection

Those words were spoken by my dear friend, Bobby. I heard them the same day we learned everyone in the corporate offices would lose their jobs. The Sales Promotion Dept. left for a long lunch and landed at the Art Director's house. Bobby and I were sitting on the front porch swing. I pointed out a crack in the sidewalk and a few more imperfect details that I can't remember.
Bobby's reply. "Jean, that's the beauty of imperfection."
That was the most foreign idea I had heard. Beauty in imperfection? I lived in a world always striving for perfection. In that one moment, I visited the possibility. Beauty released from the limits of perfection.

It was 1990. I was exchanging letters with Phil, learning about his war and Alpha Company. I was losing my job. That day I was introduced to the beauty of imperfection. The boundaries were crumbling...

I See Beauty

"Today I see beauty everywhere I go, in every face I see, in every single soul, and sometimes even in myself." -Kevyn Aucoin

Carried Home

In the Jardin des Tuileries, I soaked in the beauty
and carried beauty home. Remembered the details today,
which I had forgotten for so many years.

The Luxury of Time (in Paris)

Found this photo a few weeks ago. After trooping through the foggy battlefields and chilly underground forts in Verdun, I returned to where I began in France: Paris. I spent most of the morning in Jardin des Tuileries. The time here is one of the purest luxuries I have ever given myself. Enjoying the beauty and life in the Tuileries. No agenda. No worries. No concern that I was missing something over there. I was here in Paris. What I gained here, I carried home.

Eyes to See

This is my favorite "discovery" photo from 2009. I was intent on capturing what I thought was a WWI ID disk since I wrote about one in the chapter on Illumination Rounds in the new story. I wasn't aware that I captured the unknown WWI soldier until I downloaded the images. Since October the eyes of this soldier keep staring back at me, the writer. The glare of the glass doesn't diminish the presence.

There were photographs of two soldiers in the display case. I spent a lot of time trying to capture the other soldier without much success. Posting the photo here to show the comparison.


The morning before I visited the museum and took the photos, I worked on the new story. Sophy is learning to see - which means the writer is learning too. This was my lesson. I didn't see the photograph when I was at the museum.

Reader Support

I want to thank the readers and friends who support RESURGAM and post comments on their facebook pages! The book/story is gaining awareness due to reader support on facebook.
Just want to note once more - the first edition is a preview copy and a short run. It's not available in bookstores or Amazon. If you're interested in buying a book ($20 includes shipping), please contact me.

Reader comment/support from facebook:
All book lovers will probably agree that there are times when a very special book falls into their lives and they are impelled to do a little proclaiming about it. I want everyone I care about to read Resurgam: Standing on the Ground of Remembrance by Jean A Niedert. It came to me as gift at the beginning of 2009. It is the book that stirred me most deeply last year. Resurgam is Latin for “I shall rise again.” As the author writes in her forward, “Resurgam is a promise that out of the ashes grows new life. It is the mysterious transformation that delivers love and new life when one remembers and responds.”

Learning that the traveling replica of the Washington DC Vietnam Veterans Memorial was on exhibit nearby Jean decided to visit one day. Having read her story I believe that what happened to her that day at the Memorial borders on a mystical experience and a vocation call. As she gazes upon the countless names, all unknown to her, she hears a voice welling up in her depths, “Remember them..” The poignant story of how she remembers them actually becomes her pilgrimage. It is a pilgrimage on which she is still traveling for her characters have now become such a part of her life she is still listening to them…do visit her facebook page.

One Year Ago

One year ago, I finally received the advance copy of my book. It was my moment to experience completion of a life work and a commitment fulfilled. I did it - start to finish. My only regret was Phil was not there to see it.

Now the rough draft to the second story is done. It's nothing that I expected it to be. Last year at this time, I didn't even imagine I'd write about Sophy facing the emptiness of home, but that's what the second story is all about. She's able to move again. I didn't imagine I'd return to write more about the ground of remembrance, but that's what happened and what I'll be doing now.

I tried to let the story go in early 2009, but the story kept gently tapping, "Pay attention. Write this down." This task (for whatever reason) - exploring the ground of remembrance - is part of my purpose. Step by step. It's full of surprises and never boring. My job here is to better communicate the surprises and the discoveries.

Life certainly becomes an adventure when you step outside your familiar life... (Be sure to prepare.)

This Perfect Place

ABC News on January 2 featured a story about Charlie Wilks, a 14-year-old blind football player. The video, it turns out, is on ESPN's E:60 and was posted November 10, 2009. Saturday was the first time I saw it. Charlie spoke with such candor and we can learn from him.

He spoke about getting his sight back. What a truth he told us.
"My biggest fear would be getting my sight back. Once you go blind you start imagining the world as this perfect place. Getting your sight back and seeing how imperfect it is crushes some blind people."

VIEW: E:60 Charlie Wilks
The link also displays an article.
(Be sure to select Charlie Wilks and not Blindside.)