When her husband moved out and her father died in the span of six months, Alice’s charmed life was turned upside down. She is now a tutor, teacher, writing coach, and book discussion leader. Having been a guest speaker at Alice’s writing workshop, I can attest to her talent as a teacher—and the praise of her students!
Tell us a little about your background…
I like to think I hit the childhood jackpot: I grew up in a beautiful home in suburban St. Louis with two loving parents, the only girl sandwiched between older and younger brothers. From a young age, I was a voracious reader: Nancy Drew, The Bobbsey Twins, The Boxcar Children, and any Judy Blume story. Plus, I loved to write, especially in my diary at night—under the covers—when I should have been sleeping.
I honed my reading and writing skills and slogged my way through biology at a progressive, independent day school that encouraged its students to become critical thinkers. I attended college on the East Coast, worked briefly in publishing, and then returned to graduate school and became a high school English teacher, hoping to impart my love for reading and writing. In the midst of this “first act,” I fell in love, got married, and moved around quite a bit: New York, San Francisco (where my son, Colin, now almost 20, was born), Denver (where my daughter, Izzy, now 18, was born), and Los Angeles, before settling in Chicago.
My kids when they were young (Colin and Izzy)
When did you start to think about making a change?
Change in midlife was neither something I consciously considered nor something percolating inside me. Instead, it careened into me, like an unexpected torrent, disrupting a balance I’d naively taken for granted. You see, nothing had ever gone wrong. Or, at least, not really wrong. I had lived what many might consider a charmed life. Sometimes I would worry that surely the other shoe was bound to drop, but this fleeting concern only surfaced in my dreams or in an occasional journal entry.
My fear was founded. In 2014, over the course of six months, my husband moved out, I sold the home I had lived in for over a decade, and my beautiful, sweet dad—the person whose reassuring voice always made me feel safest—died. I once heard that death, divorce, and moving are life’s most stressful events. I had never experienced any of these upheavals, much less one right after another. In the midst of all three life-changes, my teenage son was involved in a terrible accident that required two separate eight-hour surgeries. Fortunately, he is okay. Some mornings I woke up so sad and weak, it was all I could do to get out of bed and make it through the day. In retrospect, I realize these events served as the catalyst for my change.
With my dad
My next act meant that my children were increasingly independent, navigating their way through high school. My days of keeping a Houzz-perfect home, making Ina Garten dinners, and folding the laundry just so were part of my past. I became involved in Reading Power, a literacy program for elementary students in North Chicago. Many of the children I tutored came from families that couldn’t afford breakfast, much less have a houseful of books or time to read before bed. I would leave my students’ stark halls and their “snapping” teachers, who reminded me of drill sergeants, and reenter a safe haven. My eyes opened fully for the first time to education in our country and the privileges so many of us take for granted.
Volunteering with Reading Power
What is your next act?
I am a teacher, a tutor, a writing coach, and a book discussion leader. After participating in a writing workshop for years (something I did “on the side” when my children were young), our longstanding facilitator moved to Ann Arbor. Several writers encouraged me to take over her role and I haven’t looked back. Originally, I taught the workshops (Let’s Write: A Workshop) through New Trier Extension, but I now run them independently in Glencoe, Illinois.
The participants in my workshops represent every age and profession you can imagine (picture a 20-something sci-fi writer, a middle-aged ER doctor, and an 80 year-old grandmother from Shanghai); some are published writers while others haven’t picked up a pen in decades. Through exercises and models — designed to motivate and jumpstart the creative process — and a forum in which to share their work, I assist both emerging and established writers mold their own voices.
Additionally, I do a lot of work with The Book Stall, an independent bookstore in Winnetka. I lead frequent book discussions and occasionally interview bestselling, contemporary authors (special events entitled “In conversation with…”). My book talks have led me—primarily via word-of-mouth—to several suburban and city book groups for whom I facilitate their monthly or quarterly book discussions. Recently, I “formalized” these discussions into a business and joined forces with Ann Walters, a writer, blogger (Books on the Table), and fellow facilitator. We just launched our own enterprise: Between the Covers Book: Professionally Led Book Discussions.
With Ann Walters
While I enjoy my work with adult writers, my love of working with students never abated. I spend a lot of time every summer and fall working one-on-one with high school students, helping them craft their college essays. Nothing brings me greater satisfaction than helping teenagers—who are in the midst of their own first acts—share their story. I also work with several high school juniors to help them prepare for the English, Reading, and Writing sections of the ACT/SAT.
This winter, I added instructor to my list of “jobs” and began teaching two courses at the Graham School at the University of Chicago: “Storytelling for Business” and “Powerful Punctuation: Commanding Commas, Sexy Semicolons, and More.” I know—how can anyone consider semicolons sexy? Trust me, it’s possible! Needless to say, my multiple hats keep me busy.
An early writing group
How hard was it to take the plunge?
Taking the plunge did not feel like a plunge. I did not wake up one day and say to myself “Alice, this is who you will be now.” Creating this next multi-scene act has been more like learning to swim versus taking a plunge. I began in the shallow end, expanding my reach to students and writers. As I eased into the water, I developed my strengths: leading literature discussions, creating content and teaching new classes, and forming a “business” out of it all – a business that somehow coalesced my disparate interests.
Perhaps the hardest part was learning how to promote myself. I have gone through a slew of business cards (thank goodness for Vistaprint!) and am still trying to settle on my exact title. Even getting a LinkedIn account seemed, at first, silly for a former stay-at-home mother. For weeks I wondered, how on earth do I summarize myself? After going through an enlightening experience of discovering my professional (and personal) value proposition and creating a mission and vision statement, I realized that being authentic was the best approach. I created my own website (Platinum Pen Consulting) and have tried to market myself.
Such efforts have led to me to the most incredible writing coaching opportunities: crafting wedding toasts, polishing resumes, editing Peace Corps applications, revamping a financial service firm’s website and marketing materials, and revising external communications for a trading firm. My work has introduced me to the businesses of finance, law, and marketing—entire professional worlds with which I had little interaction in my previous act. More significantly, I have met so many amazing people: analysts and editors, grandmothers and entrepreneurs.
One of my writing groups
How supportive have your family and friends been?
My family and friends have been incredibly supportive. My son, who has been away at college, asks me about my work whenever we talk. My daughter, who is about to graduate from high school, has had to often fend for herself during my busy work schedule. She makes a mean chicken stir fry, takes loving care of our yellow labs, and—with a bit of cajoling—has learned to embrace the ever mundane world of laundry. She sees the pride I take in helping others and the satisfaction that comes from getting paid for working hard. She babysits, delivers groceries, and teaches field hockey to earn spending money.
My friends have been a wonderful support system, seeing me through some really tough times, giving me advice, and sometimes providing a much-needed shoulder to lean on. Many of them have sent “business” my way, promoted me on social media sites like Nextdoor or their Facebook pages, and helped spread the word about my workshops and book discussions. My mom, too, has been a constant champion, showing me through her own resilient model how to take what life gives and make the most of it.