Songs for the Pilgrimage
by Lynda McKinney Lambert
In the Author’s Own Words
A pilgrimage is a religious journey. Pilgrimage has been an abiding theme in my writing for many years. My first book was inspired by my annual journeys to Salzburg, Austria, where I taught a drawing and writing course. I revised and expanded that book of poems, historical notes, and journal entries for this new book, which features writings, drawings, and photographs I created over four decades.
My Thoughts
I met Lynda several years ago when she joined Behind Our Eyes, an organization of disabled writers, to which I belong. I’ve read her other books, including Walking by Inner Vision and Star signs. Songs for the Pilgrimage didn’t disappoint me.
Despite her visual impairment, Lynda’s work has such vivid imagery. I believe this is due, in part, to the fact that she lost her eyesight later in life. So, she can rely on visual memory to fuel her descriptions.
I’ve read some of her poems and essays already, but I enjoyed rereading them. I found some new treasures in the book as well. My favorite is “A Secretary’s Song,” in which she inserts excerpts from the hymn, “Rock of Ages,” in a poem about the day in the life of such a worker. I enjoyed rereading “When I Begin My Day with Mozart,” an essay in which she explains how a violin sonata brings back memories of her travels to Austria.
Speaking of which, I found her journal entries from those times in her life interesting, but I would like to know more. Where did she stay in Austria, and what did she and her students do when they weren’t drawing and writing together? What sites did they see? What music did they hear?
Maybe someday, Lynda will write a travel memoir. Meanwhile, here’s a book that will take you on an interesting literary journey through poetry, prose, and illustrations.
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By the way, for those of you who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. No matter how you read it, please be sure to review it wherever you can. That goes for all my books. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe, happy, and healthy.
New! The Red Dress
Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books
When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.
Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.
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My Corner 
I do enjoy your ‘essays’ I shall call them for want of a better word, Abbie.
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I usually call them vignettes. I’m glad you like them. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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Thanks for sharing the new book, Abbie. It was 20 years since first publication of a much shorter version.
I had the revised version on my mind for many years. It kept coming back to my mind.
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You’re so welcome, Lynda. It was my pleasure.
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A lovely review of Lynda’s book, Abbie.
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Thank you.
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