Leftovers Done Right, or Reusing the Past to Make a Pleasant Present -- A Book Giveaway!

ByKaty
134 Comments

Today I am treating you to a guest post by Julia Park Tracey, author of I've Got Some Lovin' to Do: The Diaries of a Roaring Twenties Teen. This fantastically hilarious diary is from Julia's spoiled teenage great-aunt and is simply the bee's knees!

I am also hosting a giveaway for one paper copy of the book, as well as two e-books. Please write your name in the comments section to enter to win. I will choose randomly winners on November 21st at 9:00 P.M. Oregon time. E-books can be won internationally, but the paper copy is just for U.S. residents. Please enter one time only.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without"

Leftovers Done Right, or Reusing the Past to Make a Pleasant Present

I wrote a bestselling book using only scrap paper and leftover tape.

Just kidding. Sort of.

I'm one of those Katy Wolk-Stanley types who finds junk on the curb and turns it into treasure. I particularly enjoyed my former barbecue-turned-birdbath, with a little (Freecycled) spray paint and solder to make it water-tight. My raised garden beds were crafted from found wood, including a dresser with no drawers and a park bench that vandals destroyed - it's one of our favorites. My cats are second-hand (shelter kitties). Even my husband is a previously owned model (though, to be truthful, so am I). They should call me "Second-Hand Rose."

I'm good with a needle and thread, a glue gun, a canning kettle, and make a stunning soup out of vegetable peelings and leftover bones from the hot wings the boys had on Friday night. That's how we have raised five kids on a strained income.

I'm a writer, sometimes working fulltime in newspaper, part-time in magazines, or freelance on books, articles and assorted PR campaigns. The needs of the family came first, and sometimes that meant fulltime work to pay the bills, and sometimes that meant I freelanced to keep the kids out of daycare. The skills that Katy and I both possess - that we've learned along the way -- have made our particular lifestyles doable.

These skills have come in handy many times. In 2011, my great-aunt Doris passed away. She was someone I considered my "fairy godmother," for how she understood my artistic mind and encouraged me to pursue my dreams. She was always a little aghast at the number of children I had following me (she never had any), but believed in me all the same. The skillset I talk about, in finding creative uses or the best home for the unwanted object - this came heavily into play in cleaning out Doris's home after her death. From a two-bedroom home that she'd lived in for 50 years, we sent just four bags of actual trash to landfill. All the clothing, tchotchkes, dishes, furniture and odds and ends - even her post-mastectomy prosthesis - found new homes, went to charities, were consigned or otherwise donated. As a six-year member of the Compact (along with Katy), I consider this a huge success.

And amid this dispersal of carloads of goods, there was a box of old papers that my mother handed to me, asking if I wanted them. I said I did, and trucked them home with boxes of china and a bagful of costume jewelry to sort. Some six weeks or more later, I looked into the box and saw letters, photos, and a trove of diaries that dated back to 1925. I began to read, their delicate, curled pages scrawled with blotchy ink in a schoolgirl's hand. And I laughed and laughed to meet the young Doris, writing at ages 15 and 16 and 17 and beyond. I posted some snippets from these diaries on my Facebook page, to delighted friends who begged for more. Within a few months, Doris had her own Facebook page and Twitter feed, a web site, and a book was underway. Now, about 15 months later, I am just back from a book tour that took me 3800 miles by train (I bought a carbon credit to offset my CO2), and Doris's fans keep increasing. Volume two of the Doris Diaries series is underway and there are more books to come.

So while I'm not quite a bestseller yet, and I didn't actually make the books out of leftovers, I did find a creative use for these family heirlooms, and I'm happy to be able to share them with you.

Julia Park Tracey is an award-winning blogger, writer and editor, and her new book, I've Got Some Lovin' to Do: The Diaries of a Roaring Twenties Teen (1925-1926), is available on Amazon or at your local bookstore. Follow Doris's adventures on Facebook/The Doris Diaries and Twitter @TheDorisDiaries.

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134 Comments

  3. OK, Julia's great-aunt is definitely my kind of girl. I want this book! And Julia, thank you for offsetting the carbon emissions of your air miles (that reminds me to do the same for my last vacation). Speaking of books, I realized this week that my Books I Love page has been leaving out children's books altogether. So, yesterday's post features a great blogsite I've discovered that reviews and recommends good children's books, organized by age group, all the way up to young adult. If you've got kids, stop over, if you like.

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  6. How fun! Doris sounds delightful! My grandmother died in March and I too tried to find the best home for unwanted objects.
    Kim

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  13. I have some old college scrapbooks from my mother-in-law, some letters from her aunts and letters from her brother while he was flying bombers in WWII. They are interesting social history, sometimes sad and sometimes hilarious.

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  16. If I don't win, I'm putting this on my Christmas wish list.

    After my grandmother died and we were cleaning out her house, my sister found her honeymoon travel diary. They took a ship from NY to Florida and drove back to NY. This was in 1928 before interstates. It's a very interesting read. So I will enjoy Julia/Doris's stories even if I don't win.

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  21. I follow two blogs who post diary pages every day - one is from 1912 and the other 1962. I would love to read this book as well and read about list in the 20s.

    Erin F

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  34. This book sounds so interesting, and it's pretty much why I started my blog in the first place- because I would love to know more about my parents and grandparents before I was around.

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  35. It's keen to know that the life of a teen girl has not changed! I'll have to phone up some friends and share this awefully good book!

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  38. Fabulous book! I have a copy but I also have a lot of people I'd like to give one to but can't afford it. Winning a free one would be awesome. Thanks!

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  43. Julia's post interests me on several levels. I'm an inveterate recycler/rethrifter (my husband and I did our best with both my mother's and his mother's belongings when the time came), as well as a collector of other people's diaries (I have two sets from complete strangers who kept them about 100 years ago). So definitely sign me up for this giveaway!

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  52. This sounds like a great read!
    My Grandmother must have been about the same age; it would be lovely to kind of reconnect with her through this.
    Thanks for the opportunity!

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  57. Oh Doris sounds fabulous, I would love to read the book! And thanks Julia for sharing it. I can't wait to check out your blog Julia!

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  62. I love, love, love period pieces like this. If I don't win I will surely try to find it at the library. Thank you!

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  67. This book sounds fabulous...though I look forward to reading more from Julia Park Tracey. She's my kind of gal. Love her writing style of a lifestyle so similar to my own - minus 4 children. Great line - strained income. I so know that!

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  70. I love, love, love period pieces like this. If I don’t win I will surely try to find it at the library. Thank you!

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    1. Ok, I did not mean to comment twice. I am a bit confused because the comment # said 61 but my comment is #11 but really should have been #62. ???

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  74. This sounds like my kind of book. I would love to be awarded with a copy!

    Katy, I'm a new reader, but have scoured your archives recently. I would love to know what other and movies you like. Just curious, have you ever put a book list together? I know you mentioned The Little House series, the Tightwad Gazette, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but are there any others that you could recommend?

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  78. I love Julia Park Tracey and you of course...and I love the Doris Diaries and would love to win this book.

    Barbara

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  79. I'm a reader from Canada and I'd love that ebook. What a wonderful concept to even repurpose her Aunt's history!

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  84. I'm in New Zealand so please put my name down for the chance to win an e-book. It's fantastic to get a chance to enter - I am usually ineligible for competitions due to my location. This book looks awesome :0)
    Naomi Morley

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  93. I would love to read this book, and to share it with a friend who recently had to go through and distribute all of her mother's belongings, which were considerable. I was so impressed at the use she made of just about everything - all of it being either sold, gifted, donated, or repurposed one way or another. I had four great-aunts from the same Roaring 20s era and though they are gone now, would love to read about life back when they were young.

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  94. I love the idea of this book but even more intriguing to me is the subject. My mother, long dead, was born in 1908 and was a wild flapper teenager in the Roaring Twenties. I didn't learn enough about this time in her life and would love to steep myself in someone's memories!

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  101. wow, wish i had ancient rels who kept diaries. but i'd be happy to settle for reading this. if i win, i promise to send it on to a new home after i've read it. 🙂

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  104. Sounds great - hope the 3800 mile tour was a blast - and that you had some journal-worthy adventures during that time. Looking forward to reading Doris's teenage adventures 🙂

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  110. Her story is too cool. Even if I don't win, I may have to read that book. You turn up the most wonderful things.

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  115. I love reading about this era! I'm such a nerd...over and over I watched my daughter's DVD of the American Girl Doll's movie about Kit Kitridge. Such a good movie and people really did depend on themselves and make the most of what they had. I learn from stories about my grandparents and how they survived in those times.

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  120. My grandfather had great stories about going to speakeasies and vaudeville shows in NYC in the 20s. I'd love to read Doris's story-- and I'm a fan of Julia's blog, too.

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  133. My grandparents were immigrants who lived through the great depression. My mother passed on the frugal habits that come from surviving on lard and potatoes + wearing second-hand, well-worn shoes. I would like to have a copy of this book (either as a gift or from the library) as a guide to sharing our stories.

    Reply

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