Review: Journal Newspapers May 2, 2006

JOURNAL NEWSPAPERS
The Birth of an Author
May 2, 2006 / CATHY HERHOLDT / editor

Wendy Blackburn has combined her experience as a chemical dependency counselor with a penchant for writing in her first novel, Beachglass, scheduled to be released in hardcover this month.

Although in recovery herself from chemical dependency, Blackburn stresses the book is not an autobiography - it's a work of fiction, formed out of her gifted imagination, and infused with her experience as a veteran counselor who has seen the destruction of addiction on its victims and the hope recovery offers.

The story is about a young woman named Delia who is living a sober life in Seattle 10 years after going through treatment. Her long-term sobriety is put to the test when she receives a call from her best friend, Timothy, whom she met while in treatment. Timothy is dying of AIDS and Delia must keep a promise made years before to care for him during his final days. As her past catches up with her present, she sees that she has not merely survived her losses and mistakes, but has been made stronger by them. She experiences an epiphany while looking at a piece of beachglass in her hand, realizing its scuffs, scrapes and imperfections are what give it beauty and individuality, and that the same principle applies to her life.

The story provides a look at a deep, soulful friendship and fresh perspective on what recovery looks like.

In contrast to the controversial memoir A Million Little Pieces, Beachglass reveals a picture of solid recovery, Blackburn said.

"The point I wanted to make is that all alcoholics are not hopeless ... life happens, but people stay clean. I like messing with the stereotypes of what AA is or what a recovering person is," she said. "Recovering people are by far the most unique, dynamic, interesting people I have ever met. I wanted to write about them in all their glory. And I wanted to get the message out there that 'what an alcoholic looks like' is you and me."

Blackburn is not only a writer and counselor, but a mother of two - sometimes performing these equally challenging feats simultaneously. Taking great pride in learned skills such as typing one-handed while nursing a baby, Blackburn found creative ways to work her writing into her schedule while providing ample attention to her two daughters and her full-time career. The night she completed the final revisions on her manuscript, sealing the envelope and stamping it for the last time before sending it off to the publisher, she went into labor with her second child. As her husband whisked her out to the car, she managed to grab the envelope, figuring she could Fed Ex it from the hospital. On September 14, 2005, after a seven-hour labor, she delivered a healthy baby girl - and later that day, a completed novel to St. Martin's Press.

Blackburn began writing the book nearly seven years ago, not long after the birth of her oldest daughter, who is now nine. She wrote off and on, sometimes setting it aside for long periods of time, and alternately having the words literally burst forth from within onto the page.

"There were times I would sit down and it would just pour out of me," she recalled. "I'd drop my daughter off at preschool and hurry home to write."

Sometimes, the writing was an escape from the exhausting tasks of motherhood and the weight of her work - at that time, counseling adolescent drug addicts in early recovery. But there were also times that the opposite was true.

The editing and revising parts of the process were particularly wearisome. She completed the original text in 2004, but had 688 pages. Her first editor cut it down to 500 pages, but couldn't get an agent to look at it until it was under 400 pages. After this painstaking process, the publisher wanted it down to 350 pages. She ended up having to cut out entire characters before settling on the final draft.

Blackburn currently works at Residence XII, a well-known treatment center specifically for women in Kirkland. Over the years she has worked with addicts of all ages and backgrounds, and frequently thought the amazing experiences of her clients would make great stories. Honoring the strict confidentiality rules of her field, she determined to use her creativity to produce something equally intriguing.

The impending release of the book has been "completely surreal," said the first-time author. "It's a total dream come true," she said. "Like getting picked for the Olympics or winning an Oscar."

Like a mother recalling the recent pain of childbirth, Blackburn said Beachglass may be her "only child" of a novel. But she admits the creativity recently started to flow again and she often finds herself jotting words in a notebook by her bed - words she knows cannot be ignored or they'll be forgotten amidst her busy life.