Moments by Denise Tarasuk – A review by Muriel Zimmer

April 27, 2022, 1:32am

Beautifully written. Her opening would elicit a resounding, ‘thank god’, from some readers. For me, I wanted more of her life, heart and soul and didn’t want to have to wait for it. She opened by promising this would come later, or at another time. What? Dangle the carrot in front of me and not deliver? But she did deliver at the end of the very first paragraph! Shared her feelings of doldrums, suffocation, and worry.

I loved her dive into nature, but being me, I wanted to know a story from inside the beautiful house where she lived. I did love the yoga mat part and looking through the lace curtains. How did she come to live there? Does the house itself have a story to tell? I wanted more Anne Lamott’s gut and less of Thoreau’s Walden Pond. I wanted to know why nature, and this storm, was so important it came into print. I wanted more feelings, she was a good reporter, but what compelled her to write this story? [This is the same critique I’ve received from my writer friends.]

Only found two typos: use with all its might instead of with all its’ might. Doldrums instead of dull drums. Unless she was intentionally being playful.

On second reading, this piece was much better than I first realized. I read it closely, perhaps that is the difference. I’m too used to quick reading of media where you’re assaulted by too much sensation. 

Her piece is a breath of fresh air because it notices nature, my new best friend.

Love, Muriel