Meg Stafford is an accomplished author, psychotherapist, speaker and newspaper columnist.
She is the best-selling, 16x award-winning author of two memoirs, Topic of Cancer: Riding the Waves of the Big C, and Who Will Accompany You? My Mother-Daughter Journeys Far From Home and Close to the Heart.
She is a columnist and observer of humans’ and animals’ delightful quirks, and a featured teller on WGBH’s “Stories from the Stage.” For many years, her column, “A Moment’s Notice,” was featured in a number of local Boston area newspapers.
A psychotherapist and social worker in private practice for 40 years, she hears powerful stories on a regular basis and always appreciates the connective tissue that telling our truths creates. Meg embraces the notion that the shortest distance between two people is a laugh.
Meg’s belief in the power of stories to connect and heal has driven the joy in her writing, and this is echoed by readers of both her books. She has embraced her calling to bring her words to lift others (or catapult them forward), in the most entertaining and embracing way possible. This one-on-one interview shares Meg’s experience in writing Who Will Accompany You? My Mother-Daughter Journeys Far From Home and Close to the Heart.
Tell us about Who Will Accompany You?
I have always had an adventurous spirit, and this time I am taking you, the reader, along for the ride!
In the book, I tell the story of two unexpected and mind-opening trips I took – one with each of my daughters – and the challenges and joys that each journey presented. The adventures begin in Nepal and Bhutan as my 17-year-old daughter, Kate, studies meditation and Buddhism at a monastery in Kathmandu while I trek to the Annapurna Base Camp.
My older daughter, Gale, is 23 when she decides to live in war torn Colombia as an observer/witness, providing unarmed accompaniment to people establishing themselves in an intentionally peaceful community. Readers are afforded perspectives from both daughters, offering a three-dimensional look at Nepal, Bhutan and Colombia, as well as what it’s like to negotiate relationships between parent and young adult.
As a part of the process, I also reflect on my own lifetime of wanderlust and what it means for a parent to love and to let go. For anyone who loves travel, is a parent, or is seeking thoughtful reflections on life and relationships, this book is for you.
What inspired you to write Who Will Accompany You?
I wanted people to embrace the delights of travel, as well as the notion of our children traveling on their own. I particularly wanted to include the thoughts of each of my daughters side by side with my own observations and feelings, because the contrast is intriguing and compelling. I learned so much from each trip, as well as the negotiations with my husband, and was certain that other people would benefit from our honesty, what we learned, and enjoy the humor in many of the situations we faced.
How did your background and experience influence your writing?
I have always loved to write, starting in preschool when I would sound out words to make into tiny books that I taped together. This love and commitment to writing continued, as I started writing columns for area newspapers, which was a terrific outlet for my observations.
As a young adult, I traveled as much as I could—studying abroad in France, visiting Israel with my family in college, traveling across the country alone after graduating college and later living in England for eight months. I have always found travel irresistible, and seem to have transmitted this fascination to each of my daughters. They have made their way to places I have only dreamed of, and it has been an absolute delight to be able to travel with them some of the time.
My 40 years’ experience as a social worker in private practice has meant that I have for many years been honing my observations about people, and the connection between them. What facilitates this, both with my own daughters, and husband, and also with people from other countries? How do we express what we learn and feel? What is important to convey to others? How can we support our children in a way that makes them confident, curious, and generous beings who want to contribute to the world around them?
Ultimately, this book is a compilation of my passions and life’s work. It is about travel, parenting, and deepening our relationships with those we love.
What is one message you would like readers to remember?
The world is an astounding place with unlimited beauty, including that within those we love. Travel is a marvelous way to explore that richness, whether it is as close as a local park, or an exotic venue on the other side of the world. Going someplace new is an exceptional way to be open and in the moment, and doing this with someone close is a unique way to get to know that person, as well as the place you’re visiting.
For young adventurers, I hope our experiences fan your enthusiasm and remind you that there is so much to discover and embrace.
For parents, I hope our reflections help you to know that being the air under our children’s wings is a thrill and sometimes scary, but ultimately the best way to ensure that they have the tools to thrive and relish the world around them. What we learn in the process is invaluable, life sustaining, and worth repeating in many different ways!
Purchasing the Book
Who Will Accompany You? is available for sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Nook. Readers are encouraged to purchase their copy today: https://www.amazon.com/Who-Will-Accompany-You-Mother-Daughter-ebook/dp/B09QSXV798/
To connect with Meg and learn more about her work, visit: www.MegStafford.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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