#GuestDayTuesday – #ChristineSkarbek – #ConfrontingPower&Chaos

/ Marcia Meara

Today’s guest is author Christine Skarbek, and I think you are going to really enjoy her post, so let’s get going! Christine, take it away!

Thanks, Marcia!
~~~

10 fun (we hope!) facts ~~

1)  Though I’m not particularly intelligent, I outsmarted both professionals regarding my daughter’s OCD which threatened her life for years and “spooks” who had invaded my home and harassed me and my 16-year-old son for about six months. 

2)  My adventure memoir, Confronting Power and Chaos: the Uncharted Kaleidoscope of My Life, has gotten rave reviews from reviewers in the UK, France, South Africa, Canada and USA. 

3)  Hardly knowing a word of Polish, I moved to Poland and lived there by the skin of my teeth for over 12 years.

4)  My youngest daughter is an acclaimed artist in Macon GA.

5) The screenplay I wrote back in 1990 after investigating my distant cousin’s life (the only person male or female to have distinguished herself on both the Eastern and Western fronts of WWII) and interviewing her wartime associates.  That script, in its present version, is now being pitched in Hollywood.

6) I have translated all of Polish author Dominik Rettinger’s novels and adapted three of them to American or UK settings.

7)  I listen to Beethoven, Dvorak, Schubert and Grieg music religiously.

8)  I totally love travelling by train.  I have had the world’s best conversations on trains.  The folks I’ve met have been exceptional!

9)  Best way to entertain your kids at mealtimes is to have them recite lines from their favorite movies, and sprinkle questions about the actors, directors, etc. for them to answer.

10) Best way to educate your kids during summertime is to take them to Europe.

~~~ “That one event, that one ten-minute car ride, radically bowled over my life’s kaleidoscope.”

What’s in a name?

Her trailblazer of a distant cousin forged a solitary, singular path during and after WWII. Unassuming and somewhat clueless, Christine eventually finds she has to do pretty much the same. A teen fully expecting her Midwestern life would be drab and ho-hum, she meets in Germany an elderly man who offered her a ride – and insight into a legacy she was going to rely on throughout her entire life.

 Marrying the wrong guy, divorced, isolated, and responsible for four chronically ill children, she charged forward, brooking no fools to get her children the healthcare and education they richly deserved, even if that meant blackmailing the governor of Iowa. She took on the powers that be (including spooks invading her home for six months), while always striving for the career she pined for.

Throughout all the decades of financial and personal setbacks and the chaos that swirled around her, Christine’s legacy constantly beckoned her: to be worthy of that distant cousin, WWII’s most decorated courier, and of a timeless love story she witnessed.

Christine’s life journey, including her 12 years in Poland (her other homeland), is a stirring testament to determination, imagination, and the power of perseverance and of thinking out of the box.

Author Christine Skarbek

With an MA in journalism from the University of Iowa, Christine Skarbek has worked as a foreign student exchange coordinator, written op-eds for several newspapers—including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution—and co-authored three screenplays. Besides continuing her public relations promotion of D.W. Rettinger’s novels, she has had articles published in online journals.  She’s currently enjoying her semi-retirement in Silver Spring MD as her LA producer pitches her and Rettinger’s biopic on Countess Krystyna Skarbek, WWI’s most decorated agent who distinguished herself on both the Eastern and Western fronts.

You can reach Christine on Facebook HERE
Email Christine here: cskarbek@gmail.com

Check Out Christine’s book HERE

 

My adventure memoir, Confronting Power and Chaos: the Uncharted Kaleidoscope of My Life, has gotten rave reviews from: the UK, France, South Africa, Canada and USA.

 

25 thoughts on “#GuestDayTuesday – #ChristineSkarbek – #ConfrontingPower&Chaos”

  9. Wow – what a list, Christine!

    I have to say Ultimate Respeck for learning Polish. We travelled in Poland and tried our best, but even native speakers said that Polish was a difficult language to master!

    I love train travel too. We do less of it now since we tour overland with our four pups, but I rather enjoy trips to the launderette for the same reason. The whole of life passes through a launderette!

    Thank you for sharing!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Hi, Jacqueline, I tried to respond to you the other day but it looks like it didn’t take. Ergo, yeah, trains are super great! Four puppies! Woof! That can complicate traveling, for sure! Would love to chat w/ you anytime! Salut!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. NOTE TO ALL: Christine has experienced some difficulty in responding to posts, though we aren’t sure what the problem is. Hopefully, we can sort it out, and she will be able to do so SOON! Thanks for your patience! ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Looking forward to hearing what YOU think! NOTE: If in doubt about leaving comments on this blog, please read the privacy statement in the menu at the top of the page.