We hope you enjoyed the October 2022 issue of This Awful Awesome Life.

Many thanks to Lilly Kauffman, Orlando Bartro, and Linda Cahill for their contributions to each issue.

November is the month we give thanks for a bountiful harvest.

It’s also the month we recognize the contributions of Indigenous Americans to our society. November is also National Novel Writing Month and Movember, a month of growing mustaches to bring attention to men’s health issues. Ready, set, start growing your mustache and scheduling your wellness checks guys because you are important and we love you!

Congratulations to Annette Dashofy for winning the Tony Ryan Book Award for excellence in fiction or nonfiction thoroughbred racing literature in 2021 for her novel, Death by Equine. Way to go Annette!

I’m happy to report I have completed the rough draft of my next novel, and I’m currently making revisions with the help of a very special beta reader. I don’t know when it will be ready for publication, and I haven’t decided if I’m going to self-publish or follow a more traditional publishing path. Wish me luck. I’ll keep you posted.

Lilly Kauffman has a poem for us this month. In honor of National Novel Writing Month, Orlando Bartro discusses the “Snippet Method.”

This month I reviewed The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters. Grohl is a multi-talented musician, singer, director, and songwriter. His memoir is fascinating, and I’m excited to share my thoughts about it with you.

Fall is in full swing, and we have streaming recommendations for you.

“Dare to Believe,” is proud to feature two Indigenous American authors whose works

ensure that Indigenous communities are represented and accurately depicted in literature. They fight to debunk the stereotypes traditionally perpetuated by books, movies, and television.

We have a collection of words to help you embrace the falling leaves and falling

temperatures and appreciate the beauty of life among the chaos we sometimes create when we try to overschedule ourselves going into the holiday season. 

Our vegetable of the month is corn. I have the link to a family favorite recipe for you.

Linda Cahill shares some delicious recipes for football Sundays and Thanksgiving courtesy of The Pampered Chef. Don’t miss our reading recommendations for kids and adults and our November Quiz featuring the songs of November. Also, check out our Author page and our preview of the December issue.

The November 8th election is one of the most important elections of our democracy. Please take this opportunity to vet the candidates before you go to the polls. Know where they stand on all the issues and if their voting records reflect their stance on important issues. Please show up and vote. We will never tell you who to vote for, but we will keep telling you to vote and do your homework! Vote for the candidates who are the most qualified and who will safeguard our democracy.

Samantha Sayers has been missing since she disappeared on August 1, 2018, after a day of solo hiking at Vesper Peak near Seattle, Washington. Sam grew up in the Erie, Pennsylvania area where her parents Ron and Lisa still live. Her family is exploring all avenues of inquiry to find and bring her home. In the face of such an enormous challenge, they have chosen hope. Please keep sending positive thoughts to Sam and her family. As promised, we will be displaying a yellow ribbon for Sam on the opening page of each issue of This Awful Awesome Life until she is home.

If you are a person of faith, please pray for her safe return to her family. Because we are an online publication, we can update this article with any news. We will also post information on our Facebook page. Thank you!

Please share our link, www.thisawfulawesomelife.com with your friends and family.

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Happy Reading,

Fran