Heartfelt Matters

Dear Daughter

UPDATE:  To all my viewers out there:  I have not written in my blog for awhile.  It is challenging to keep up with everything especially when I am trying to build my brand as I go along.  As an entrepreneur, I feel clear at some moments, excited at other moments, and frustrated at times.   It is all part of the experience of following dreams.  The path takes you around the bend, up the tree, and then finally you land in the most divine place that you dreamt of in the first place.

Very exciting news!!! Robyn Freedman Spizman, award-winning author, promoter, and TV personality will be joining in with me to author the next book in the series, Dear Daughter, On The Day You Were Born...Mothers Share Letters from the Heart.  I will be creating a new website to hold all the projects within the Heart Project.  We are on our way...

As far as the work in progress, Dear Mom, as a play, we are now looking to have a professional production at one of the following locations, San Fran, LA, Chicago, or Miami.   We are putting the script together and then will be seeking out investors for the first professional production. 

Mothers Day Cafe - Continued Interview with Danielle Bacheers

Danielle Bacheers is a young woman who wrote a letter to her mother from her prison cell.  She is serving a life sentence.  In the book, Dear Mom, her letter is on page 71, "Loving You from My Prison Cell." Continued Interview with Danielle Bacheers.

Question:  Are you a regular letter-writer?  Has this experience made you want to write more letters?

Answer: I am a very avid letter-writer.  I have been incarcerated for 10 plus years.  Letter-writing has been one of the few ways I am able to stay active in my loved ones lives.  In the past few years, I've written a lot less than I did initially.  This experience reminds me how liberating writing can be.

Mothers Day Cafe - Continued Interview with Danielle Bacheers

Danielle Bacheers is a young woman who wrote a letter to her mother from her prison cell.  She is serving a life sentence.  In the book, Dear Mom, her letter is on page 71, "Loving You from My Prison Cell."  Continued interview with Danielle.

Question:  What happened when your mom read the letter? 

Answer:  I wasn't there when my mom received a copy of the letter.  When I talked to her about it later, she was very emotional, but also very supportive.

Mothers Day Cafe - Interview Continued with Daniel Bacheers

Danielle Bacheers is a young woman who wrote a letter to her mother from her prison cell.  She is serving a life sentence.  In the book, Dear Mom, her letter is on page 71, "Loving You from My Prison Cell."  Continued Interview with Danielle.

Question:  Tell me about the experience of putting those words down on paper.  What were you feeling inside as you wrote to your mom?

Answer:  Well, It was like a procession of emotions.  There was hurt, confusion, anger, betrayal, acceptance, and love.  But it definitely ended with love.  It was so hard to write down though.  It was kind of final that way, made it something I couldn't deny.  There it was in front of my eyes in black & white and I had put it there for everyone to see.

Mothers Day Cafe - Interview with Danielle Bacheers

Danielle Bacheers is a young woman who wrote a letter to her mother from her prison cell.  She is serving a life sentence.  In the book, Dear Mom, her letter is on page 71, "Loving You from My Prison Cell."  Recently, I sent some questions for Danielle to answer.  For the next few posts, the questions & answers will be posted on the blog.

Question:  Who or what urged you to participate? Answer: The person who informed me of the Heart Project urged me to do it knowing my relationship with my mother.  What really made me feel compelled to do it though was my need to really be free of that part of my past.  Being able to say to the world, "Look, this is what happpened.  It was bad. It was hurtful, and it was hard to get through, but I did. We did.  My mother & I got through it & now we're closer than ever.  It's great.  We've been able to jump every other hurdle in our path since then!  That's what convinced me to participate. 

ACTORS SHOWCASE

Dear Mom, I’ve Always Wanted You to Know…Daughters Share Letters from the Heart, Penguin April 2005 is now a Work in Progress as a play. The first live performance  was launched March 13th, 2006, at Creative Workshops, Creative Workshops in Miami, Florida. Men & women (actors & actresses) signed up for the workshop, and dramatized the letters on stage. It transcended all boundaries and touched the hearts of everyone.  You can view the footage at: Actors Performance.  On March 8th, Joan Fleischman, columnist at the Miami Herald, wrote about Dear Mom titled  Stage...Right...You can read the article at The Miami Herald

What is a Work in Progress?
A Work in Progress means that we are working with the material from the book, Dear Mom, and dramatizing the letters into a staged performance. There will be many incarnations before an actual play is written. The creative process will naturally flow into a staged production. Our goal is to first stage it in Miami, and then take it on the road, eventually on Broadway.

MOTHERS DAY CAFE - James Frey's Mother

At the blog, Smoking Gun, story of James Frey,( bestselling author of A Million Little Pieces), on page 3, there is a picture of James Frey's parents in the audience of Oprah.  James fabricated his entire childhood, saying that he was the worst kid at St. Joseph, and that he got pushed around a lot.  The real truth is that a former classmate who lived across the street stated that James Frey's parents were very generous people, and that there was nothing troublesome about James. 

His mother is in Oprah's audience knowing that James is lying about his childhood.  What is behind his mother's Mona Lisa smile?  Is she proud that he is lying?  How does this make her feel, knowing that she is being poorly represented by her own son?  Did her son and her have discussions about what he wrote before publication?  Did he get her approval?  WHAT IS BEHIND HIS MOTHER'S MONA LISA SMILE? 

MOTHERS DAY CAFE - Interview with Hallmark Channel

My mother and I were interviewed for the Hallmark Channel and it will be aired March 20th, 7:00 am.   

I'm very excited and appreciative to get this media piece under my belt.

The more I can get out there and expose the Letters from the Heart Project, and my book, Dear Mom, the more women it will help around the world.

MOTHERS DAY CAFE - Interview with Yvonne Devita

Yvonne DiVita is a master at blogging.  She is known as Jane at her Lip-sticking Blog - Smart Marketing to Women Online. She always get interviewed on marketing, yet I am interested also in Yvonne's lovely heart and her personal life.

1) Given that you are a masterful blogger, how does this affect how your daughter views the world?

YVONNE: My daughters both look to me as the quintessential businesswoman.  My eldest daughter, who has a business of her own, is eager to learn blogging & use it in her business, but she is so busy.  My youngest daughter is an active emailer and into instant messaging, but not into blogging as of yet.

LISA: Like mother, like daughter.  It will be interesting to see  if Yvonne's daughters eventually become bloggers. 

2) What are the most valuable lessons you have learned from your daughters?

YVONNE: My daughters have taught me to be foward thinking - they do not dwell on the past, & they perceive the future as an open book - to be written with a pen of their own!!!  I have been inspired to try harder -- to achieve more -- to be a bigger person than I am, in order to show them a positive role model. My daughters have taught me to believe in myself. 

LISA:  Listen up women. We can all learn from Yvonne's daughters. Cheers to creating on our own beautiful canvas in life!

3) How do you balance your time as a business woman, & mother?

YVONNE: I don't. I stayed at home with my children, two girls and a boy while they were young.  I did not go back to work until my youngest was in 6th grade. For a few years, it was hard to juggle work & kids, but the girls pitched in a lot. We operated as a team. The kids really understood how important it was for Mom to work - and then, to risk all by starting her own business. 

They are all grown up now, & I see how strong our working together in those early years had made them.

LISA: Team is the only way to create extraordinary things in the world!

4) When you pass your legacy to your daughter, what wisdom will you impart to her?

YVONNE: I think the "you can do anything" legacy has seen its day.  The truth is - you can't do anything.  You can only do what you really, truly, & passionately believe in! I hope I have taught my daughters that they should never 'settle' in a relationship - be happy or get out. And, they should be passionate about their work. What matters is how happy your work makes you. Don't worry about being able to 'do' anything, or 'be' anything -- just don't settle for less than you really want. 

LISA:  It is the brilliance and light in us that makes the difference in others.  It is up to us to find the jewels within us.

Yvonne Devita

Stay tuned for our first interview with Yvonne Devita, Lipstick Blogger Queen.

Provocative questions about her relationship with her daughter.

Stay tuned next week...Only in the Mothers Day Cafe. 

And to all the wonderful women out there, remember to always Mother Yourself.