by Michael D. Wynne
I have met and have known many authors over the last half century, more than you can ever imagine. Often even when the author may have written brilliant literary works, they themselves can still be rather dull individuals, frequently boring and not always as intelligent as we might expect of an acclaimed writer. Christee Gabour Atwood is just the opposite as a person: sharp as a tact, joyous, delightful, thrilling at times and a totally engrossing writer. As often as I have heard her speak and as much of her books that I have read so far, I can’t get enough of reading Christee’s books, especially her monumental Calling Home. I am not alone is this general admiration as Christee now has a burgeoning and thriving fan club.
A native and longtime resident of Alexandria, she is the daughter of a prominent newspaper publishing couple who at one time had owned the Pineville News in the 50’s and 60’s. (Christee’s brother, Jim, is now an award-winning film and video producer and director.) A 1977 graduate of ASH who later graduated LSU, Christee wanted to go into journalism from the age of four to be just like her parents. “It was in my blood,” Christee says, “My mother was an excellent writer throughout her life and became known nationally as a writer of fiction and poetry.” Christee added that “snippets of my mother’s life are in all of my stories.”
From LSU, Christee concentrated more on the field of communication media and soon worked at radio and television stations and newspapers from Alexandria to as far away as Los Angeles. But Christee’s heart was always in writing books and poetry. She initially wanted to write just novels, but her journalism fever also pushed her to write non-fiction, too.
Her first book, Unfinished Portraits, published in the 1970’s, was personally inspired poetry. But her first “big” book (as she calls it) was Journal of a Mid-Life Crisis, a book that won her critical praise from many sources. But her book that has now taken the world by storm and is making her a household name is her very latest, Calling Home. Christee describes this book as a “fantasy memoir.” She further says of it, “One day, I just got on the computer and didn’t stop writing until I was finished.”
The book was never supposed to become a book as it was really supposed to be a way for her to personally deal with the grief of the lost of her parents. “It is a journey through my loss and what I went through to come out on the other side. I cried through the entire book writing it; On the last page, I finally smiled and finally “got it.”
Christee was encouraged by her friends to publish this book for others to read and use it to address their own personal grief of lost of their loved ones. “People tell me that my book changed the way they look at things. Everyone gets something different out of my book which I don’t really understand. But I am glad they do benefit from it.” Christee adds that writing this book was much more difficult than any other book that she has ever written, but it was well-worth writing it. A reader does not have to have had a personal loss to enjoy and to benefit from reading it; the book is for everyone to learn about life.
Christee has other books also well-worth your reading time. In Celebration of Elastic Waistbands is a comic wonder, born of her personal experiences over the years.
Christee is also a fascinating speaker and can probably speak on just about anything, always adding a humorous twist.
Christee’s marvelous collection of books is available on Amazon Books. https://www.amazon.com/stores/Christee-Gabour-Atwood/author/B003IO3MZ0?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
