ERICA NEALE – Author of The Emissary, Interloper. The Emissary's Endgame and The Sand Clock

Meet Erica Neale.

As an adult, Erica graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Honours, English from McMaster University.

She is married and cherishes time with her family.
Later in life, Erica enjoyed travelling to countries she only read about as a child.

She believes people want to be heard. People need to be heard.
It is important to acknowledge other cultures whether at home or abroad. It is one way to enrich our own views of life.

The elderly, particularly, through their life experiences, can offer wisdom and guidance to those who are willing to listen. They would like to be heard.

People need to understand the past in order to live in the present and prepare for the future.

THE INVISIBLES

October 24, 2024I would like to offer my thoughts on ‘the invisibles’ within our society. ‘The invisibles’ are people who are being deliberately ignored. Unfortunately, in some ways, we have developed into a society of ‘them/us’ originating out of ignorance and resulting in fear, hatred and prejudice where kindness, compassion and understanding can be in short supply. In fact, society comprises not only of ‘the invisibles’ but also ‘the unteachables’. The ‘unteachables’ are those people with the attitude, ‘don’t bother me with the facts: my mind is made up already’. Ignorance is not bliss. It can be downright dangerous. Now that I am many decades into my life span, I offer my observations on ‘the invisibles’. The elderly and the very young can be ‘the invisibles’. People of different cultures and dress are ‘the invisibles’. Handicapped people using canes or wheelchairs are ‘the invisibles’. People who express themselves through body art or dress are ‘the invisibles’. When and how did we get to this stage in our evolution when we became a society of categorizing our fellow human beings as us/them? Please remember our attitudes and prejudices can be passed to our young people perpetuating the attitude of exclusion. As for the very young, they too want to be heard. Children discover early on that sometimes the only way to communicate TO an adult is to be loud and/or demanding. Notice the reaction of parents trying to calm their child while others walk by scowling, staring straight ahead or hurrying past in an effort to avoid the whole unfortunate situation. I admit I can be a bit of a Pollyanna! Life, in all it’s stages, can be difficult and challenging BUT I do believe we all need and want to be acknowledged and respected. Yes, I know, respect must be earned! However, alienation of a segment of society must not be tolerated. Many things can be said and points made but in the end we must remember one thing: we are all human beings, inhabiting the same planet. We need to work together for the sake of our civilization. Look up into the night sky and understand this. Each human is merely one grain of sand on a very large beach working with other grains of sand for the continued survival of the beach. Now, extend that thought to the unimaginable vastness of the universe. When we understand our isolation and insignificance as one grain of sand, we can truly understand our importance in the universe! [...]

WEDDINGS and FUNERALS

April 13, 2024Over the past couple of months, I attended the funeral of an old friend. I also witnessed the marriage of a much loved family member. Weddings and funerals are a rite of passage not just a celebration of life. Weddings are joyous events. Guests share in the celebration of the marriage of two people embracing their love and hope for a positive future. At first thought, funerals are an entirely different cup of tea but, really when you think about it, not so different after all. Walking into a funeral home, one hears the hushed voices of the mourners. More people arrive. Greetings are shared; voices get louder. It is not long before the occasional chuckle and outright burst of laughter is heard from the shared memories of the deceased. Family members are trapped in a time warp listening to stories while, at the same time, coping with the loss of their loved one. Funerals and weddings can bring out the best or the worst in people. People meet others whom they have not seen in years. Enter the human dynamic. Emotions can run the gamut from joy and laughter to down-right nastiness if old issues bubble to the surface. Both weddings and funerals are rites of passage. Weddings give rise to feelings of hope and joy. Funerals give rise to thoughts of mortality – our own. [...]

2023 GONE

January 24, 2024So, 2023 is now gone. For some folks 2023 proved to be an endurance test and is now, big sigh of relief, gone. Others found 2023 to be an “interesting” year. There were job changes, relocations, marriages or divorces, births and deaths – a typical year! Why not do a personal review of this past year? Let’s be honest. Is there ever such a thing as a perfect year? Every month, week, day, and sometimes hour, can test our strength. Some events are completely out of our control and we are blindsided. When this happens we need to take a big step back, analyze the situation, gather our resources and try to move ahead. There may not be a successful conclusion, or one to our liking, but we need to learn from the experience. Do we want to be stuck in a negative state unable to move on? Life is short. (Do I really need to state the obvious?) The older we get, the shorter is life! Every day brings opportunity. I believe the comment, ‘been there; done that; own the tee shirt’ is appropriate. We must also acknowledge and celebrate our successes no matter how insignificant they may seem at the time. They, too, shape our perspective. During times of stress it is important to draw upon our personal resources. We have (or should have) learned through past life experiences how to relate to ourselves with the hope of a positive outcome. A pep talk, if you will. That’s right I said, relate to ourselves. Many of us are so busy running, doing and being, we seldom have a chance to take a step back and either praise ourselves or ‘what the hell were you thinking?’ moment. Both are helpful. [...]

Books by Erica Neale