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Work in Progress In her collection of quotes and essays, author Maggie Smith demonstrates that change, however painful, is full of opportunity. Reviewed by Dr. Fred Hill
New executive director named to Chamber’s CVB Rachel Thompson has been selected as the new executive director of the Chamber’s Convention &
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merican poet, freelance writer, and editor Maggie Smith may be best known for her 2016 poem “Good Bones.” Now, in this book of quotes and essays, she writes about new beginnings as opportunities for transformations. Here is a sampling of what other reviewers thought about Keep Moving; Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change: “An ingenious synthesis of poetry, proverbs, journaling, lyrical prose, belles lettres, psalms, meditations, and aphorisms.” ______ “…offers a bouquet of generosities in one hand, and a bouquet of soft but firm honesty in the other. A promise that what doesn’t get better sometimes gets easier. And that, too, is worthy of celebration.” ______ “Candid, lyrical, and full of empathy, this is a book that feels vital and welcome in these
times. A stunning and wise piece of work.” Keep Moving consists of three sections, with two chapters in each section. They are: Revision: The Long Book, and Beauty Emergency Resilience: After the Fire, and The Golden Repair Transformation: The Blue Rushes In, and Nesters Author Smith writes… “Life is a book — long, if we’re lucky — and we write it as we go. The ending isn’t written, waiting for us to arrive. I’d known this all along, logically, but I hadn’t yet felt it. I thought that I knew my story. I thought that what I was living was the whole story, but it was only a chapter. After almost nineteen years together, my ex-husband and I separated. When my marriage ended — and with it the life I had known — the book did not end. Suddenly, there were so many blank pages, so many blank years ahead, to fill.”
With ideas to work through and stories to tell, Smith tried writing poetry. Little was comforting and healing. Ultimately, through her process of “What now?” she would write an affirmation, an encouragement, a selfdirective — every day. She would post these on social media. She would Keep Moving. Here are a few of her beautiful offerings: Stop straining to hold the door to the past open. If we are not careful, we can revise our life right out of us. Accept that you are a work in progress. Do not sit still inside your grief, your fear. Do not bargain away pieces of yourself. A remarkable journey inside one’s heart and mind — and it can be our journey too.
Visitors Bureau. Thompson was hired in 2015 as sales and services coordinator, later promoted to sales manager for the CVB. She began her role as executive director on September 1, succeeding Julie Lunning who was promoted to Chamber president.
AWG partners with Coborn’s to expand distribution footprint Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. (AWG) and Coborn’s, Inc. have reached an agreement for AWG to serve as the primary wholesale supplier to all Coborn’s grocery stores. AWG will begin supplying grocery products to the Coborn’s stores in January 2022 from AWG’s new Upper Midwest Division in St. Cloud, which is located in the former Creative Memories warehouse facility in St. Cloud’s I-94 Business Park.
Biery elected chair of workforce association Career Solutions Executive Director, Tammy Biery, was elected chair of the Minnesota Association of Workforce Boards
Dr. Fred E. Hill is an emeritus
(MAWB). MAWB also presented
professor at St. Cloud State
Career Solutions with its
University.
Promising Practices award for its Discovery Days program.
Ke ep Mov i ng , Not e s on Loss, Cre at ivity, an d C h an ge by Magg ie S mith ; On e S ig n al P u blishers ; NY 20 20 ; I S B N 97 8-1 -982 1 -32 07-1
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