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A literary healing

Author whose poem appears in book benefiting American Cancer Society says writing helps her cope with some of the sad experiences in life

By Tammye Nash
Dallas Voice

FORT WORTH - When she submitted a poem to writersway.org, Fort Worth
writer Terri Rimmer didn't realize part of the proceeds from sales of the anthology she hoped to be a part of would benefit the American Cancer Society.

But when she found out her poem was selected for the anthology called
"Spirit of Strength," Rimmer was glad to know her poetry would help benefit such a good cause, she said during a recent interview

"I have had a lot of friends and family members who have had cancer.
Quite a number of them have died," Rimmer said. "In fact, the day I found out my poem had been chosen for 'Spirit of Strength,' a good friend of mine told
me they think she has bladder cancer."

Editor Kristen M. Biss said "Spirit of Strength" - a special print edition
of Voices Literary Magazine - was born of her need to share the healing power she found in poetry while she was battling bone cancer.

The book includes works from 18 poets and artists. It retails for
$10.06 at barnesandnoble.com, and Biss has pledged $1 from the sale of each copy to the cancer society.

Rimmer's poem,"Charmed," is on Page 12 and Page 13 of the 48-page
paperback. She said she wrote it as a tribute to her sister.

"The name of the poem is kind of a play on my sister's nickname, Charm
Chick. She can charm just about anybody into anything," Rimmer said. "She read the poem before I sent it in, and she was really touched. She and her girlfriend live in Florida, but we are really close. We always have been. Our parents
divorced when I was 8, and our mother just kind of
left. So my sister is really the one who raised me."

At 11, Rimmer went to live with her mother. But by 14 she was living in a
children's home. From then until she turned 18, she said, she spent her life moving between foster homes and institutions.

Through all the upheaval, Rimmer never lost touch with her beloved
sister.

"No matter where I was, she always wrote to me and came to visit me," Rimmer said.

Rimmer said she first decided she wanted to be a writer when she was 8,
about the time her parents divorced. Her lifelong dream took a little different turn when, as a freshman at a West Georgia College, she joined the staff of the school newspaper.

"I had never really thought of being a journalist. I had always wanted
to do creative writing," Rimmer said. "But I loved working on the newspaper in college. I still didn't want to be a journalist, per se. But it was writing,
and I enjoyed it."

By the time she was a senior, she had worked her way up from beat reporter
to editor of the school newspaper. She was also co-editor of the school's magazine, and had done intern work at community newspapers, including the
Times Georgian in Carrollton, Ga., and the Marietta Daily Journal.

After college, Rimmer took a position as editor of the East Cobb Neighbor,
one of a chain of neighborhood papers in Georgia.

Rimmer eventually married, and in 1996 she moved to Fort Worth when her husband was transferred. They separated shortly after, but she decided to stay on.

Almost five years ago, in what she calls an "unbelievable fluke of chance,"
Rimmer found herself pregnant. Knowing that she was not financially capable of caring for a child, she decided to put the baby, a girl, up for adoption.

Rimmer is able to see her daughter a couple of times a year, and the two exchange cards and letters. But as the holidays set in, it's still difficult, she
said.

"Putting my daughter up for adoption was heartbreaking for me. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. It was also the smartest thing I have ever done," said Rimmer.

Rimmer found solace in her writing. She began keeping an adoption journal
at Adoption.com and eventually turned the journal into a novel about her experiences.

Her novel has been optioned for publication by Adoption Media. But
after two years, Rimmer said, she is beginning to lose faith in the company's promises.

"They've been promising to publish it, and they keep telling me
'the vendor is trying to iron out the purchase details,'" she said.

Rimmer said she would like to shop the novel around to other publishers.
But she has a contract with Adoption Media.

Waiting on the publishing company to take action on her first novel
has also forced Rimmer to put plans for her second on hold. The manuscript, dealing with her time in foster homes and children's institutions, is
completed, but Rimmer said she doesn't want to start the process of trying to get it published until the situation with the first book has been resolved.

In the meantime, Rimmer's primary source of income is a part-time job with Abbey's Pet and House Sitting Service. But she continues to make writing a priority.

"I am always trying to get whatever freelance gig I can find," she said.

She has worked for the Ally, a GLBT newspaper that publishes every week in Tarrant County, and she contributes regularly to Gayfortworth.com, an online
news service.

"What I want to do is make a living as a writer. It's hard, but it's
always been my dream, and it still is," Rimmer said.

Terri Rimmer's online journal of her experiences as a mother who put her
child up for adoption can be found at http://e-magazine.adoption.com/articles/277/life.php.

E-mail nash@dallasvoice.com

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF DALLAS VOICE, COPYRIGHT, DECEMBER 3, 2004, DALLAS VOICE, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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