WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING TOUR
Don’t Let Me Keep You
By Kathie Giorgio
Book Summary
Motherhood is a symphony, from the first movement, through crescendo after crescendo, to the finale.
Hildy Halverson, a genius in math and science, is pushed by her parents to step into a male-dominated field and change the world for women. But Hildy, enamored of the scientific force of the human body, and her own body’s ability to create and sustain life, decides to go against contemporary expectations. She marries young and raises a houseful of kids.
Hildy wants her children to choose their own life paths. As each child is born, she tells them, “You can be whatever you want to be, and whatever you want to be will be great.” Despite her efforts to not influence her children, Hildy does so, often in unexpected ways. Each child is introduced in that first private moment between Hildy and her new baby. This is followed by a chapter revealing that child’s life, years later. Woven throughout is an underlying grief over the death of the sixth baby soon after birth. That grief is more pervasive than any of them expect.
In this ambitious novel, the struggles and joys, fatigue and exhilaration of motherhood, are captured in the full panorama of family life. Hildy lovingly raises her children, then lets them go, finding herself along the way.
Publisher: Black Rose Publishing (October 3, 2024)
Print length: 230 pages
Reviews
Don’t Let Me Keep You is a lyrical meditation on motherhood seven times over, gestating, unfurling with rhythmic, poignant prose. Over decades we see each of the Halversons through the eyes of the others, bringing into sharp focus how differently each member can experience the same family. The way children protect their mothers, the way mothers remain children themselves, and what a mess we can still make of things despite our best intentions. That we can choose to love each other regardless of who we turn out to be, no matter what.
–Maggie Ginsberg, author of Still True
Don’t Let Me Keep You follows a math prodigy’s unconventional and slightly obsessive journey through motherhood. Giorgio’s dynamic characters and complex emotional bonds turn this family saga into a propulsive page turner wherein motherhood as a career is an empowering choice. At once gritty, heartbreaking, and hopeful, Don’t Let Me Keep You shows the fallibility of the human condition through the haunting eyes of a mother’s love as she struggles with the age-old question, Am I a good mother?
–Marisa Rae Dondlinger, author of Open and Come And Get Me
The thing I love about Kathie Giorgio’s books are the surprises. Her books are not like anyone’s. They are fresh, unique, and wonderful. Don’t Let Me Keep You is all that and more. This is a story about motherhood, childhood and family. Belonging, expectations, and the enduring power of love. Of course, because this is Kathie’s novel, there is poetry, and vignettes. A cast of characters worth knowing. And many opportunities to reflect on our lives as parents and children. I highly recommend Don’t Let Me Keep You.
–Karen E. Osborne, Author of True Grace and Reckonings
With delightful finesse, author Kathie Giorgio weaves a flawless web of family love that weathers plenty of storms, but still comes out shimmering.
–Mary Ann Noe, author of Water the Color of Slate
Purchase a copy of Don’t Let Me Keep You on
Barnes & Noble
You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list.
Author Guest Post
Balancing a Writing Career With Having Children
I was 23 years old when I had my first child, a son, in January of 1984. 27 months later, I had my second son, and 13 months after that, my first daughter. Then came a gap of 13 years, where I divorced my first husband, married my second, and in October of 2000, had my fourth child, my second daughter. I was forty years old.
And through it all, I wrote up a storm, having hundreds of stories and poems published in literary magazines and anthologies. In 2010, my first novel was published, which started an avalanche. In the last 14 years, I’ve had 15 books published (8 novels, 2 short story collections, 4 poetry collections, and 1 collection of essays), all by traditional publishers. I was also asked to guess-edit an anthology and started my own business, a creative writing studio that offers online and on-site courses and workshops to writers of all genres and abilities, as well as coaching and editing services. The business is now international.
And I’m exhausted.
My children, however, who are now 40, 38, 37, and 24, all not only survived, but they thrived. They always have front row seats at my launches. And they have a very healthy respect for literature and for reading.
I think probably the most important thing I did while raising my children and struggling to write was develop and maintain a sense of worth over what I was doing. I never considered my writing as a hobby. It’s a passion, a lifestyle, a drive, and ultimately, a career. It was, plain and simple, important to me. I let my children see that. They learned very early on that there was more to their mother than being Mommy, or in the case of my fourth child, Mama.
A part of showing this worth and this importance was in taking up physical space. I always made sure, wherever we were living, that I had my own office. Sometimes, it was just a corner of the basement, but mostly, it was an actual room, with four walls and a door. I never wrote at the dining room or kitchen table. I never had to pack up my stuff to make room for something else. The space was mine.
My kids knew that what Mommy/Mama did was work. It was a job. When I would head into my room, I didn’t tell them I was going to write. I said I was going to work. They understood that. And they knew that, whenever I was in that room, I was to be left alone unless there was something that absolutely needed my attention.
They had their rooms. I had my room. We all respected each other’s spaces.
I think, as parents who write, where we truly hit a bump in the road is when we receive rejections. Writers don’t usually get paid until after they write something, big or small, and sometimes even then, we don’t get paid very much, if anything. So when we get hit with rejection, and we all do, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of believing that what we’re doing isn’t important, it doesn’t have worth, because we don’t earn a steady paycheck. And why in the world are we spending time away from our beautiful children, who are getting older every day, to write something that may never see the light of day, and even if it does, it won’t pay enough to pay the electric bill?
At those moments, it’s hard to hear this, but we spend our time writing because it’s important to us. It drives us. We spend hours thinking up words and sentences and paragraphs and when we finally sit down to write, it just feels like we’re doing what we were put on this earth to do. So likewise, we spend a lot of time telling our children to love themselves, that money isn’t the only way of determining someone’s value, and that we always need to be true to ourselves.
Sometimes, we need to say these exact same lessons to ourselves. Always be true to yourself.
I wish I could have the time back that I spent worrying that I wasn’t being a good mother when I sat down to write, instead of sitting down to play with my children, when, in fact, I sat down to play with them after I finished writing. I could do both! But it took a while to realize that, and to accept it.
When did I begin to accept it?
When my children began asking me what I’d written that day.
When my children crowed with me when I showed them the latest magazine, the latest anthology, and now the latest book with my name on it.
When my younger son, in the third grade, ran home from school ahead of his siblings, burst in the back door and shouted, “Mommy! I wrote a story! Come see!” And I did. I dropped everything to see it, even the chapter I was working on. And he knew I would.
When my fourth child, too young to know how to write, asked if she could dictate her story to me before she went to bed at night, and we did and we printed it. Today, at 24 years old, she’s working on the second draft of a novel. And that younger son? He is writing a blog, and somewhere on his computer, I know there’s a novel.
My children knew that what I was doing was important because I treated it as important. My children know that they are important because I treat them as important and now they treat themselves as important too.
Embrace your words, and embrace your children. Take time for your children, and take time for you. You will all grow together.
About the Author
Kathie Giorgio is the author of a total of fifteen books: eight novels, two story collections, an essay collection, and four poetry collections. She’s been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in fiction and poetry and awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association, the Silver Pen Award for Literary Excellence, the Pencraft Award for Literary Excellence, and the Eric Hoffer Award In Fiction. Her poem “Light” won runner-up in the 2021 Rosebud Magazine Poetry Prize, and her work has also been incorporated into many visual art and musical events. Kathie is the director and founder of AllWriters’ Workplace & Workshop LLC, an international creative writing studio.
She lives with her husband, mystery writer Michael Giorgio, and their daughter Olivia, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Three of her adult children, Christopher, Andy, and Olivia, live close by, along with her solo granddaughter, Maya Mae. One adult child has wandered off to Louisiana and lives among the mathematicians and alligators.
You can follow the author at:
Website: http://www.kathiegiorgio.org
Facebook: kathiegiorgioauthor
X/Twitter: @KathieGiorgio
Instagram: @kathiegio1
Blog Tour Calendar
October 21st @ The Muffin
Join us as we celebrate the launch of Kathie Giorgio’s novel Don’t Let Me Keep You. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of her book.
https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com
October 22nd @ Tracey Lampley
Kathie Giorgio reveals how she had 15 books published with traditional publishers in 14 years, including her latest Don’t Let Me Keep You.
https://www.traceylampley.com/guest-author-interviews
October 24th @ What Is This Book About
Get a peek inside Don’t Let Me Keep You with today’s excerpt.
www.whatisthatbookabout.com
October 25th @ The Frugalista Mom
Rochie will be reviewing Kathie Giorgio’s latest novel Don’t Let Me Keep You.
https://thefrugalistamom.org/
October 26th @ A Wonderful World of Books
Author Kathie Giorgio writes about controversial books and the hurdles they face in today’s post: You’ve Been Banned. Now What?
https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com/
October 29th @ Michelle Cornish
Learn what Michelle thinks about Kathie Giorgio’s latest novel: Don’t Let Me Keep You.
https://michellecornishauthor.com/blog/book-reviews
October 30th @ Create Write Now!
Is Writer’s Block real? Learn what author Kathie Giorgio has to say today on CreateWriteNow!
https://www.createwritenow.com/journal-writing-blog
October 31st @ The Frugalista Mom
In a complicated world, author Kathie Giorgio shares how she takes on controversial topics in her writing.
https://thefrugalistamom.org/
November 1st @ Michelle Cornish
Author Kathie Giorgio shares the challenges of writing through illness and crisis.
https://www.michellecornish.com/blog
November 4th @ A Story Book World
What’s on your TBR list for November? Learn more about Kathie Giorgio’s latest novel Don’t Let Me Keep You.
https://www.astorybookworld.com/
November 5th @ Chapter Break
Kathie Giorgio writes about the precarious balancing act of writing and raising children.
November 6th @ Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
Don’t miss today’s interview with novelist Kathie Giorgio.
https://lisahaselton.com/
November 7th @ Knotty Needle
Still deciding on your November read? Check out today’s review of Don’t Let Me Keep You by Kathie Giorgio.
http://knottyneedle.blogspot.com
November 8th @ Word Magic
Author Kathie Giorgio shares her thoughts on Writing as a Business.
https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com
November 12th @ The Faerie Review
The spotlight is on Kathie Giorgio’s latest novel, Don’t Let Me Keep You.
https://www.thefaeriereview.com
November 13th @ Words by Webb
Jodi is reviewing Don’t Let Me Keep You by Kathie Giorgio.
https://www.jodiwebbwriter.com/blog
November 14th @ Some Thoughts – Everything Creativity
In today’s guest post, learn if author Kathie Giorgio is Plotter, Pantser or Both?
https://www.kaeceymccormick.com/blog
November 15th @ Choices
Author Kathie Giorgio writes about Depression: Putting One Foot in Front of the Other.
http://madelinesharples.com
November 19th @ StoreyBook Reviews
Looking for a good book for the Thanksgiving holiday? Leslie is reviewing Don’t Let Me Keep You by Kathie Giorgio.
https://www.storeybookreviews.com
Leave a Reply