Mary Soderstrom

Started the big edit of my next book. Always a little stressful to learn what the editor thinks. Good questions asked: must get to work answering them. (The book will come out in March 2026)

Just to make sure you don't forget, here's a reminder. Would be great to see you there. I'll talk a bit about the genesis of the book, and there will be some goodies to eat and drink.

Spent a weird afternoon Monday at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The visit was planned several weeks ago, but I never imagined that the world would be in a new war as we walked through the exhibits."War is not good for children and other living things." Never truer than now.

It's getting pretty exciting! Here's the poster for the official book launch of Before We Forget: How Remembering Will Get Us Through the Next 75 Years. Hoping all my friends will be able to make it: 2-4 p.m, Sunday, March 15. Can't wait....@dundurnpress #endoftheworld

Sometimes it seems that this is not true at all, but it's essential to remember that striving to make things better is a noble endeavor. Right, Jude? As in: "Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better."

Better than that Black Friday nonsense. #anticonsumerism #BlackFriday

Ken McGoogan: While exploring both individual and collective memory, and incorporating the lessons of contemporary science, as well as those of China, Rome, and Indigenous North America, Mary Soderstrom reaches into a hat and pulls out a coherent, readable work of art. Bravo!

youtu.be/TnAgc1kgvLc?si… Paul Krugman writes this morning about how Trump is operating in a bubble of syncophancy. Read it and check out his Substack. He finishes with a "Musical Coda." Today's is Neil Young's "Rocking the Free World." Full of irony. Almost made me cry.

Anybody succeeded in disabling the automatic AI searches in Google? Just spent an hour trying to follow instructions offered by others also annoyed by unsolicited AI use, but nothing worked. Inserting -AI after each search query works, but that means YOU have to do the work.

Evi on the hunt for a bee! Luckily for it and for her, she didn't catch it. Note the harness.  She's an inside cat who has learned to love her harness because it means she can go outside.

News worth waiting for: The Last Bridge, my 20th book and seventh novel, will be published in May 2027 by Dundurn. Yay! @dundurnpress Want a preview? Check out my story Ketamine in Queen's Quarterly @QueensQuarterly

So you can translate "can cover" as "peut couvrir" ? My bad. I hadn't noticed the terrible translation or the fact that it was made in the USA when I bought it to cover the cans of cat food which now live in our fridge. Mea culpa. Evvie the cat seems unperturbed.

A fitting photo because this is the scene with which I end my new book Before We Forget: How Remembering Will Get Us through the Next 75 Years, and I just finished the first major round of editing it. There's more but you'll have to wait until I can reveal more about the book.

It finally came, the Summer Queen's Quarterly with my story Ketamine. And this is only the beginning: shortly I'll be able to post news about the novel in which this story has its roots. The old gal still has a yarn or two in her! @dundurnpress @QueensQuarterly

Had some help making the bed this morning from Evvie AKA Evlampia Siberian Glory, the newest member of the family. She's a Siberian cat, supposedly hypoallergenic (so far so good) and very sweet. First animal since the long-lamented Calie departed 15 years ago.

Compare and contrast/ Canadian National Parks, historic sites and some museums will be free from June 20 to September 2. while Trump trolls in the US who are cutting support for national parks there. parks.canada.ca/voyage-travel/…

#Krugman #LosAngelesProtests Paul Krugman today on what is happening in Los Angeles: "This is the moment. Everything is on the line, right now."For more of today's Substack, google "This Is Not a Drill: American democracy is on the line right now"

Suddenly we have roses! Hadn't noticed the buds until the flowers burst forth after a couple of warm days. Lovely! Enough to give you hope--and be grateful that the combination of chicken manure and rain was right this year. #gardening #roses #hope

Wrote about this community several years ago in my book Against the Seas: Saving Civilizations from Rising Waters. Things have gotten worse. @dundurnpress #ClimateCrisis seattletimes.com/seattle-news/c…

Located in an abbey that dates from the 12th century, the Suzanne-Martinet library in Laon, France, houses not only manuscripts and documents relating to local history, but also a section for younger readers that you get to by climbing this elegant staircase. #libraries #france