Blog Tour: SOMETHING TO HOLD ONTO by Ann Hajdu Hultberg

 

Something to Hold on To

by Ann Hajdu Hultberg

 

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GENRE: memoir/anthology

 

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BLURB:

 

In life we hold on to our faith, family, friends, our sense of humor, our memories, and our promises. As a child, it might be a make-believe world. Sometimes it’s something physical like a prayer card or a twist tie, a school bag or a rosary bead. Maybe it’s a photo. Everything we hold dear brings us hope and comfort during both good and bad times.

 

I write what I and others have held on to; I recount my experiences as a late Baby Boomer raised in rural Pennsylvania, and most importantly, by a Hungarian father, an immigrant, who escaped the Soviet Invasion in 1956.

 

I hope that you the reader will connect to some of the stories and the things we hold on to.

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

from “Mom’s Girdle”

 

Mom was always losing or fighting with her 18-hour Playtex girdle. It seemed as if this contraption had a mind of its own, wanting to be seen, calling attention to itself, almost like a neon light flashing from a bar window. The trampoline like material sucked in all the fat so clothes appeared smooth and seamless without the ripples of excess pounds.  From waist to upper knee, this apparatus was popular with my mom in the 60s and 70s. Her belly was flattened and thighs were made to look slimmer, something she said she needed after birthing four kids. These ghost white undergarments were a staple in mom’s underwear drawer.

 

The first time Mom lost a hold of her girdle was when she was out shopping, and the elastic, which had been shriveling on the waist band, probably from its years of wear, let loose. Like a broken rubber band snapping off a pony tail, the entire garment fell to her knees. Though in public, with many eyes upon her, mom simply shimmied the girdle down to her ankles, like a girl slinking down a fashion show runway; she peeled it off her ankles, and with a kick, tossed the girdle in the air like a spinning pizza crust. She grabbed at it and stuffed the undergarment in her purse as carefree as she would a wad of Kleenex. She continued on with her shopping.

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“What do you hope readers will get from this book?”

First of all, my goal was to take what is personal for me and make it universal for my readers. I hope readers will connect to my experiences or emotions relayed in these forty- some stories. Maybe you will think back to your own childhood memories, or recipes your grandmother shared with you. Maybe you will dig out those old photographs and reminisce times spent with siblings. Or find old letters you received from someone special. Somehow I hope this book touches you in a special way whether you are laughing or crying.

 What is happening in Ukraine reminds me of what happened to my Dad growing up in Budapest, Hungary. Hungary was always occupied either by the Germans or Russians. Both wanted control of the country, as the Russians want control of Ukraine. In my book are included several stories about my dad’s escape from Hungary during the 1956 Uprising and his assimilation to the United States. I think readers will find his story fascinating that he was able to escape so much danger and live to tell his story. Readers who have family or friends who may have immigrated here to America might find interest in Dad’s stories too.

I am sure many of us have lost a parent, grandparent, family pet. All three losses are addressed in separate stories and how one copes in the aftermath. In “Ashes to Ashes,” I write about the day we had to put down our 19 –year- old Shih Tzu. In “Cleaning my Grandmother’s Tombstone,” I reminisce my days with my Hungarian Grandma and the few years we had together. In “The Promise,” I describe my mother’s rare cancer and eventual death and anger at how badly she suffered. I asked why?

Laughter is the best medicine! And I hope my audience chuckles when reading about the times my mom lost her girdle in “Mom’s Girdle.”  Or the episode when, as a toddler, I covered my dog in peanut butter, among other devilish things, in “The Imaginative Child.”  Or when my daughter’s then -boyfriend thought my husband and I were talking about Viagra at the dinner table when instead we were talking about the blue PM Tylenol pills in “A Case of Mistaken Identity.”

After reading “Hometown, “ I hope you appreciate your own hometown for its beauty, people, buildings, surroundings. Sometimes we have to leave and return in order to appreciate what we had.

If you have married off a child, you may resonate with” One Breath,” a story that deals with my daughter’s leaving the nest. Or if you have ever raised a teenager, you will love “The Fun Sucker.” I recall those young teen years when I was deemed the enemy, according to my child.

All in all, I wanted my stories to be somehow uplifting, with positive outlooks, no matter the situation. I tried to find the good in life, appreciating what we had.

  

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Ann Hajdu Hultberg, born in Buffalo, New York, grew up in rural Bradford, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and St. Bonaventure University, Ann spent 34 years teaching English at Limestone, NY, and Allegany, NY, School Districts; she was also an adjunct college composition instructor and student teacher supervisor at University of Pittsburgh at Bradford for 15 years. She and her husband split their time between Bradford and Naples, Florida, and visiting with their daughter and son-in-law. Something To Hold On To is her debut book.

 

Ann can be found on Facebook as Ann Hajdu Hultberg. Her Twitter handle is @HajduAnn and Instagram is annelizabeth59. https://www.facebook.com/ann.hultberg

 

Her book is available on:

 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Something-Hold-Ann-Hajdu-Hultberg/dp/1667856413/ref=sr_1_1

 

and Bookbaby  https://store.bookbaby.com/book/something-to-hold-on-to

 

 

 

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GIVEAWAY 

Ann Hajdu Hultberg will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway