Paolina Milana - author and writer for hire

Everybody has a story. I've been telling people's stories for decades. I'm an award-winning writer and published author with journalistic roots and a marketing background. Let me help you write or ghostwrite the story of your life. Also available for corporate brand storytelling.

Archives for June 2015

“In Loving Memory”: Thank You, Mamma

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Mamma lingered for days on life support. Her final moments had me begging nurses for morphine to end it. “It” being her body convulsing, fighting, rebelling…refusing to give up and let go. “Pulling the plug” is not the serene Lifetime Movie moment where a loved one exhales and serenely slips away.

The S Word Memoir

Mamma’s death mimicked her life. Everything she was, all that she had, she fought for it, she struggled to get it – before and after schizophrenia got her. And yet, even when mental illness took root in her, she fought it, refusing to act on orders from voices no one else could hear. [Read more…]

Humbling and Grateful PLUS 5 Other Experiences in Publishing My Memoir

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It took me a decade, more or less, of therapy to be at peace with my past. It took that much, if not more, to put just a piece of me and my past onto paper, ultimately publishing my first book, The S Word – a Memoir. With the book having launched in May and with me seeing my story covered on the front page of The Daily Herald newspaper this morning,

Daily Herald Burt Constable feature on "The S Word"

The Daily Herald’s Burt Constable read “The S Word” and wrote an inspiring piece that made it to the Sunday morning front page. Truly humbling!

AND with tomorrow’s Chicago book signing, I’ve found myself surrounded by family and friends and even strangers and experiencing some…well…experiences and emotions that I’m learning aren’t all that uncommon. So I thought I would share what every memoirist might expect upon the launch of their book, courtesy of some of my favorite comedic moments:

 

  1. “This One Time at Band Camp…”

My memoir is in part a coming-of-age story that, yes, involves the typical “S” word. S-E-X. A very brief but pretty significant scene has to do with sexual awareness and the “M” word. M-A-S-T-U-R-B-A-T-I-O-N. If your memoir touches on…um…bad choice of words…let me try again. If your memoir deals with anything having to do with, let’s call it “teenage angst” (think 1999 flick “American Pie”) you might want to prepare yourself for others reading about your private moments and wanting to share theirs. Note: this may include your grandparents. Just sayin’… And remember, they were young once, too.

[Read more…]