Local educator and author Lisa Goldade, a Minot State University alumna and Minot Public Schools teacher and counselor since 1995, has shared her keen insight into the damage and destruction young people suffer as a result of growing up in alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional homes.
"People say addiction is an illness," Goldade said. "I also believe addiction is a murdering force that takes your life away, literally and figuratively. Since I became a teacher, I can see it in others."
"Ugly Wrapping Paper Priceless Gift" started as a short story meant to serve as catharsis in Goldade's personal healing process. She passed the manuscript around to a few friends for feedback and one day received a call from Xlibris Corporation, a self-publishing company.
"Many years ago, Dr. Rioux (her psychiatrist) told me the last step of any therapy is to find something good that happened as a result, and then move on. At the time, I thought he was crazy. There came a point where I realized I was carrying all this dead weight around every day, and in order to get well, I had to put my suitcase down. So I thought I'd tell my story one last time, then put my suitcase down and walk away," Goldade said.
"But when Mary (from Xlibris) called, she told me my story was worth telling to more people, but that I needed to talk more about my dad, the process of my healing and why I wrote it. So, this summer, I walked dogs for the Humane Society in the morning, then came home and wrote," she said. "I finished it in a month and cried the whole time."
"Ugly Wrapping Paper Priceless Gift" is a short read that chronicles Goldade's childhood with an abusive alcoholic father. Early in the book, she candidly describes vivid memories that haunted her long into adulthood and interfered with acquiring honest, sustaining relationships with peers throughout her teenage and adult years.
Later in the book, Goldade describes meeting her one true friend during her darkest hours of desperation and fatigue. The meeting was the catalyst in her life changing journey towards creating a vital and emotionally healthy life.
"There is no doubt that writing the book was very painful,"?she said. "But (by) telling my story and showing others how I worked through things, I hope this helps them see it is possible to move on."
Goldade will sign copies of her book "Ugly Wrapping Paper Priceless Gift" Wednesday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Dakota Square Mall, in celebration of National Education Week.
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Minot State lecture explores Naxi culture
Robert Kibler, a professor of humanities and literature at Minot State University, will present "Ancient Pictographs, Shamans, and Ghosts: Close Encounters with the Naxi Tribe on the Sino-Tibetan Borderland" on the Northwest Art Center Lecture Series Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Aleshire Theater at MSU.
Kibler will discuss the Naxi people, their various gods and demons, explain how he came to travel to their remote land, and how lessons learned from the Naxi may be pertinent for
us today.
The Naxi tribespeople live within the loop of the great Yangtze "River of Golden Sand," high up in the mountains along the Chinese-Tibetan borderlands. The Naxi lived for centuries untrammeled by outside forces. But in 1723, the Chinese invaded, bringing with them all kinds of cultural transformations to which the Naxi had to adapt, Kibler said.
The Naxi world is inhabited by tens of thousands of ghosts, demons, and gods, so that everywhere they turn, certain procedures have to be followed, or else demons might seize upon one or more of their three souls, causing illness, catastrophe, and even death. "Luckily, the Naxi have their dongba, or shaman, who is a specialist at summoning the help of the good gods and at casting out demons," Kibler said.
The lecture is free and open to the public. A question-and-answer period and informal reception will follow the lecture. At the reception, guests will be invited to sample authentic loose-leaf teas brought back by Kibler from this remote locale.
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Group seeks nominations
The Minot Character Counts Coalition is accepting nominations for the Character Builder Award which will be presented at the annual Youth Character Awards banquet in January 2012. the Minot Community The Character Counts! Coalition honors individuals, programs, or businesses that have had a direct impact in the community in building a community of character.
The nomination form for the Character Builder Award is located on the
Minot Public School Character Counts! website or can be found at: (pages.minot. k12.nd.us/votech/ccfile/Graphics/Nomination Form.pdf)
Nominations are also being accepted for the Minot/American Youth Character Awards for students in grades seven through 12. People who would like to nominate a young person with exceptional character should contact Chris Pettersen at 857-4595 to request a nomination packet. All nominations must be postmarked by Nov. 30.
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FCCLA to meet in Minot
The Family Career and Community Leaders of America will hold its annual fall leadership meeting Wednesday at the North Dakota State Fair Center.
Patrick Kasper, a fitness instructor and motivational speaker, will present a program to members at 11:15 a.m. The chapter members will also elect district officers; participate in a creed and a quiz contest and will donate canned goods to the Minot area food pantry.