Diana Page Jordan | Book Reviews and Inspiration

Multi-tasking tonight.  I know.  I learned this past week that my body is a lot happier with me when I focus on one project at a time.  The acute bronchitis still has a tiny grip on me.

That aside, I get energy from my work. I just finished editing interviews with Brad Meltzer about his book The Book of Lies, with Jodi Picoult about Change of Heart, and with David Sheff who wrote Beautiful Boy about his son Nic, who wrote Tweak: Growing Up On Methamphetamines.

That followed an evening at The Link For Women – a networking group — featuring Janet Lee Johnson speaking about social networking and excellent breaded shrimp.  My focus shifts from Tweak to Tweet, as I reply to Melissa Lion, from Saturday’s workshop on social networking.

There is a thread that carries through all this.

It is – transparency. Melissa Lion calls it being real.  Janet Johnson takes the business angle, and cautions that even a tiny slip away from the truth will haunt you — quickly.  Brad Meltzer tells me in his interview that all his books are about finding his place in the world, discovering a place where he feels right. And, Nic Sheff confides that because he didn’t feel at home in the world, he did drugs.  David and Nic say that when Nic was tweaking, drugs came first, long before the truth did.  The father and son regained the trust after a lot of open conversation and hard work.  And, Jodi Picoult, well, Jodi loves to leave the reader with burning questions in their own hearts.  In this case, she imprints the question what is true?

I’ve been on Facebook and LinkedIn for awhile, just recently added Twitter with its cute little Tweetdeck (a third-party application that enhances Twitter’s usability).  And the social networking is adding depth to my life.

Counter-intuitive, isn’t it?  I’ll explain. When I was beginning in journalism, I hid.  I didn’t want anyone to know I came from a family with so much sexual violence, drunkenness, addictions, and cruelty – to the outside world, they were beautiful, talented geniuses.  I performed, as I was trained to do, and I hid.  Gradually, over the years I’ve learned that the more I tell, the better I feel, and the more real I am.  And with social networking, you have to be real to be trusted, to have friends!  The world is a much brighter place. For real.  And virtually, too.