Ya Gotta Laugh

                                                                Ya Gotta Laugh

by Barbara Alldritt       

 

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GENRE: Short Stories, Contemporary

 

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BLURB:

 

In "YA GOTTA LAUGH", Barbara Alldritt presents a series of short stories based on her own experiences, and those of others, about living life with joy & happiness, in spite of life's challenges.

 

While pursuing an academic career, Barbara was hit hard by a debilitating disease. She quickly determined she needed a new direction in life. Always interested in writing, she turned to creating stories about this new path.

 

These are stories that show that even in trying circumstances, there are still ways to find humour.

 

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EXCERPT:

 

With my food so lacking in entertainment value, I started watching TV while I ate even though it probably wasn’t very good for my mind or soul. I liked documentaries, and watched a series on the twentieth century dictators that included Hitler, Mao, Tito, Castro and Stalin. It struck me that my body was the supreme dictator in my life because if I didn’t do what it wanted, it had ways of making me wish I had!

 

The first time the thought occurred to me, I called my body “little Stalin” but immediately relented. Stalin was about as nasty a dictator as has ever lived in any century. I needed a more benign comparison. Castro seemed the best choice. He took power to make life better for his people, and he did in many ways. He was a much more benign dictator than the self-aggrandizing butcher, Stalin. Yes, I decided, Castro was the best choice as a namesake for my body.

 

But referring to my female body as Castro or Fidel felt wrong. It would have to be feminized. Since the way to do this in Spanish is to add the suffix “ita,” my body became Fidelita. It felt right. And it let me feel less crazy when asking my body what it wanted from me.

 

I decided I should learn to speak my body’s language. It’s called applied kinesiology, or muscle testing, and was recommended by many of the alternative health practitioners I consulted. I found it a bit like a computer language in that the only valid questions are those with “yes” or “no” answers. I learned to hold the question I wanted my body to answer in my mind. Questions like whether a substance I held in my armpit was acceptable to Fidelita. If my linked thumbs and index fingers held strong when I tried to pull them apart, she was answering “yes” to my question. If they pulled apart easily, her answer was no.

 

I learned to always ask Fidelita first if she found a medication I was thinking of taking acceptable. And I always asked her about new foods I wanted to try. If the first answer was “yes,” I would ask about medication dose or how often she would allow me to eat the food. I always complied. I’d had enough of the torture chamber!

 

I was always polite to Fidelita, too, saying thank you for every answer she gave. I hoped it would make her more inclined to overlook a few small indiscretions, like the odd chocolate or bag of potato chips. It seemed to work. Fidelita started to release my muscles from the spastic grip she had previously held them in and allow my head to stay clear after eating.

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Author Barbara Alldritt was born and raised on a farm in Saskatchewan and although there was always work around the farm she preferred hiding behind the couch reading a book rather than be out in the fields hoeing potatoes or washing dishes in the kitchen. After High school she travelled extensively in Western Canada and then set out on a 2-year adventure around the world and met her husband on that trip in Western Samoa. They returned to Canada settling in Calgary. Barbara then returned to higher education at the University of Calgary and completed her Honours Degree in 1988, and was awarded the Faculty of General Studies Gold Medal and the Lieutenant Governor’s Gold Medal for that year.

 

They then moved to Vancouver, BC, and Barbara entered a master’s program at UBC. In the throes of completing her MA and preparing to start her PhD, MS hit her hard and put a stop to her academic work.

 

Needing a new direction and given her interest in both research and writing she looked into many options for maintaining her health from taking up aqua-fitness to nutrition and what she should and should not eat.She also became active in the MS Society and produced their newsletter, in which she wrote stories that looked at the humorous side of living with a disability. 

Many who read her stories were inspired to contact her to tell their own tales and adventures. She interviewed them and added them to the newsletter, resulting in this compendium of stories.

 

CONNECT WITH BARBARA ALLDRITT

 

WEBSITE - https://barbaraalldritt.com/ 

 

GOODREADS - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21918420.Barbara_Alldritt 

 

 

PURCHASE LINKS YA GOTTA LAUGH                   

 

AMAZON.COM - https://amazon.com/dp/0228854482 

 

AMAZON.CA - https://amazon.ca/dp/0228854482 

 

AMAZON KINDLE - https://amazon.com/dp/B09HKPLHG2 

 

INDIGO CHAPTERS - https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/ya-gotta-laugh/9780228854500-item.html

 

BARNES & NOBLE - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ya-gotta-laugh-barbara-alldritt/1140284315 

 

BOOK DEPOSITORY - https://www.bookdepository.com/Ya-Gotta-Laugh-Barbara-Alldritt/9780228854487 

 

SMASHWORDS - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1107091

 

APPLE IBOOKS - https://books.apple.com/us/book/ya-gotta-laugh/id1588808339 

 

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

 

Barbara Alldritt will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway