My Love for Books: Author Interview

Friday, July 26, 2013

Author Interview – Lori Stevic-Rust

What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why? “The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Reminds us that when things feel like they are at the lowest point in our lives—better/different is soon to follow. This saying hangs on the wall in my waiting room.

The quote is also reflected in the book on the importance of embracing our flops and mistakes in life as they are often hidden guides to our success.

What are you most proud of accomplishing so far in your life? Raising two amazing daughters

What is your favorite color? Yellow

What is your favorite food? Dark chocolate

What’s your favorite place in the entire world? Hawaii

How long have you been writing? wrote clinical books in the past. This is my first memoir.

What inspires you to write and why? As a psychologist I believe in the power of good stories to connect us to each other. I am inspired to continue writing and speaking particularly when I hear the impact that the words and messages have on others.

What inspired you to write your first book? I was inspired to write my first memoir when began to reflect on the aging process as I was turning 50 years old and my grandmother was turning 100 years old. Hers has been the voice in my head guiding me down my life’s path over my first 50 years.

Can you share a little of your current work with us? The Best Gifts Comes from Flops

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”—Winston Churchill

One day when my daughter Katie was a little girl, she asked my grandmother why her arms flopped. She gently grabbed the skin under my grandmother’s arm and said, “If you push this, it flops.” She went on to ask, “Why doesn’t mine do that?” Why indeed. These “flops” can best be described as the area on a woman’s arm that appears to be a bicep that became deflated like a balloon and fell to the underneath side of the arm. As the wind blows, so do the “flops.” Nana swears at times she even feels them slapping against her ribs. This motivates her all the more to continue to lift weights, as she is convinced that she can tighten up those flops. Each of us women who share her genetic makeup quietly sits on the couch and cheers her on in the hopes that our fate of the flops can be altered.

“Flops” are another surprising gift of aging. Or maybe to some degree or another, we all have them throughout our life, but only as we age do we recognize them as hidden gifts.

There is no question that life is easier to view in the rearview mirror with the passage of time. We can more clearly see how things that seemed painful and disappointing in the moment may have led to incredible blessings further down our life path. How the loss of a job may have led to a great career opportunity, or running late in the morning may have saved us from a deadly accident on the freeway. Some of our greatest experiences of flops, disappointments, and pain when examined closely usually turn out to be life changing.

One of my great flops had to do with a pot roast.

How did you come up with the title? Greedy for life is my grandmother’s philosophy of life. She lives life with purpose and passion. She never settles but rather absorbs moments in life like a sponge. As her 101 year old birthday approaches, she still claims that she want to see more, do more, love more and live more.