Confidence
It was bound to be a special night. Marjorie Hudson , stellar author/teacher/cook, came to Greensboro on June 14 so that we could reprise the call and response" readings we had created from our 2012 books - my novel Blood Clay and her short story collection Accidental Birds of the Carolinas. We had had a blast on our original book tour, reading selections that spoke to mutual themes of strangers in the South, religion, race, the natural world, sex and love, so I was anticipating another night of this writerly dialog. Before we set out for Scuppernong Books , however, Marjorie had a surprise. She presented me with a jade-colored medallion and said it was part of her new focus on confidence building for herself and other women. It did go beautifully with my dress - but its value lay in how with each breath I got a gentle reminder, a tactile moment like fingers moving along a string of prayer beads. Like many women, I have suffered from what an Atlantic article calls The Con