Turning Over a New Leaf
Mistakes, confessions, and new adventures.
Although we’re already in the shorter, nippier days of fall, for some reason, I’ve been thinking about the end of summer. Do you remember those August days—running free with no schedule, no expectations, no homework, and that creeping sense that this freedom would soon end? It wouldn’t be long before you’d be expected to get up in the morning, get dressed, and be out the door before God was even awake, and then spend the best part of the day with thirty other kids in a stuffy classroom reading, writing, and raising your hand.
Even if you loved going to school, there were days when all you wanted to do was play in the creek, ride your bike, or settle into a comfy chair and read a favorite book. If you’ve recently retired, you might be re-living those days. Some of you are missing the routine that school and then work offered, while some of you are relishing in the lack of it. I get it. I can’t wait until I’m fully retired (227 days!), and I can choose how to spend my time, like in those long-lost days of summer.
But no matter how I felt about returning to school in the fall (and it varied year-to-year), I looked forward to my Mom taking me shopping for a new set of clothes for the school year, and most of all, for new spiral-bound notebooks waiting to be filled with the new year’s lessons. The clothes were fine, but I was one of those weird kids who’d rather go to the office supply store than the dime store, or certainly the clothes store. I loved the possibilities that awaited me at Shoffner’s Office Supply among the typewriters, pens and pencils, and especially the blank notebooks.
Even after the school year had begun and my notebooks’ edges became tattered and its pages filled with my scrawling penmanship, I couldn’t wait to turn the notebook page over and write on the immaculate right-hand side. Left-hand pages, even blank ones, never gave me the same pleasure. They were to be filled quickly with no regard to neatness in order to begin again on the right. I loved turning over a new leaf. The Grammarist says this about the origin of this idiom:
The phrase came out of the 16th century when leaf was a common term for a page in a book. Think of buying school supplies and how a pack of lined paper was called loose-leaf paper.
So, to turn over a new leaf initially meant to flip to a fresh, unwritten page, which is supposed to be symbolic of a clean start or a chance to write a new story.
For a Catholic kid, turning over the notebook to a clean fresh page felt a lot like going to confession. After kneeling in that tiny dark cubicle and divulging my secrets to the priest who sat behind the screen, I’d walk out, say my penance, and immediately feel purified—my soul washed clean of all the evil thoughts and deeds a ten-year old could harbor. I was the poster child for turning a new leaf.
I think this is why I was so dismayed when the first set of ten copies of my new memoir arrived, and after excitedly opening them, I discovered that the title page had been printed on the back of the fly leaf, leaving a blank white page on the right. My heart sank. This time the right-hand page was not supposed to be blank! It was as if I’d entered the confessional and there was no priest on the other side to hear my confession.
This memoir holds a lot of confessions, and, in many ways, its release is a form of purification. Consequently, its title page deserves its rightful place—a beacon of what’s to come. After I got far enough past my disappointment to think clearly again, I strategized how I could design a sticker for the right-hand page that made the mistake look intentional. My wife was impressed with my problem-solving plan. However, I haven’t designed that sticker yet. Instead, I corrected the error (which was mine) in my book formatting software (Atticus) and submitted a new order with the title page where it belongs. I still don’t know what I’m going to do with the errant copies.
When I opened the new box of books, I did so with trepidation. Would the mistake be fixed? What other mistakes might I have introduced? I cut the tape on the box, carefully pulled the paper packing out of the box as if I were unwrapping a swaddled baby and smiled when the book’s cover came into view (I do love the cover!). I took a deep breath, lifted the book out of its carton, and then paused another moment to say a brief prayer, “Universe, may these be right.” When I opened the book and saw the title page was where it belonged, I whispered, “Thank you,” to no one in particular, and let my held breath fill the room. My soul felt pure again.
More New Pages
This book project has also resulted in other new pages, i.e., a shiny new website and a re-titled/purposed Facebook page.
New Website for WordsWomen Press
I’m especially pleased with the new website for WordsWomen Press. I wanted something simple, clean, and uncomplicated to use. This filled the bill.
For the authors among us who might be curious, I created the new website using pub-site.com. Although it took a little effort to think like the developers do, I’m very pleased with the results. The site is easy to manage and simple to update with author appearances, new publications, etc. I still have some work to do on it, some design elements I want to change and some new pages to add, but creating each new page will remind me of all the new leaves I’ve turned in my life.
Facebook Author Page
I’ve also repurposed a book page on Facebook to make it my main author page. If you’re a Facebooker, please visit annettemarquisauthor, and before you leave it to continue your stroll (scroll) through the Facebook universe, please follow and like the page. That goes a long way to improve visibility with the Facebook algorithm.
I hope you’ll visit both my website and my Facebook author page to see what I’m up to outside of Substack.
Book launch details
And now for even more fun stuff! I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be holding several book launch events in November: two in-person events and one virtual, to celebrate the release of “Living Into the Truth: A Daughter's Journey of Discovery," a memoir exploring family secrets and the search for identity.
During these evenings of storytelling, reflection, and connection, I’ll share my journey of uncovering truths and embracing forgiveness. Enjoy a short reading from the book, interactive activities, book signing (in-person only), and a chance to connect with others.
Come celebrate this inspiring release, and be part of a conversation about truth, healing, and living authentically.
1st In-Person Book Launch Celebration
November 1, 2024, 6:00 – 8:00 pm Eastern, First Unitarian Universalist Church, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Books will be available for pre-purchase when you register and also at the event.
A portion of the proceeds will go to support Rainbow Chalice, a group acknowledging, supporting, and celebrating the UU LGBTQIA+ Community.
RSVP here:
2nd In-Person Book Launch Event
Date and time to be announced. Diversity Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA
A portion of the proceeds will go to support Diversity Richmond, the hub for the LGBTQ+ community of Greater Richmond. More soon!
Virtual Book Launch Celebration
November 2, 2024, 7:00 – 8:30 pm Eastern
This special event is for all my followers outside the Greater Richmond Virginia area and for those who can’t make it to my in-person events. I hope you’ll join me on Zoom to celebrate with me.
Register here:
What new leaf are you planning to turn over this fall?
So, whether it’s a new outfit (by the way, I bought a new blouse last week for my book launch events. It’s beautiful! I can’t wait to wear it!), a new notebook, or a new way of being in the world, I hope that this autumn you find ways to turn over a new leaf on things you’d rather leave behind.
Let me know what leaf you’re considering turning over.
Have a beautiful October!
Annette
It was so nice to see you and Wendy at the JRW Conference. It was equally nice to be able to get your book and start my read. The cover is really captivating, Annette. And as an aside - love, love me a good office supply store!!
I’m with you, I loved stationary of any kind - and still do. We had very strict teacher who insisted that we always wrote on the first line of a new page in an exercise book. She said if you left the first line empty on every page, by the end of the book it was equal to a whole wasted page! 50 years later I still remember her words!