Wish I Were Here

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My memories of childhood are shadowy, fluid, dreamlike. Like a Super 8 home movie. Scenes blur together, and then separate into clips of lucidity. This…
J.D. Riso
In January 2000, I accompanied my husband on a business trip to Paris. While he was in meetings, I wandered around the city. A bitter wind blew through…
J.D. Riso
The Breakaway Republic of Transnistria – April 2014 Birdsong, then lawnmowers. This is the soundtrack of my walk from the train station to the center of…
J.D. Riso
Wewak, Papua New Guinea - September 1995 The darkness begins to dissipate with no sign of the PMV to Ambunti. When the first sun rays appear, we trudge…
J.D. Riso
Part 2 of 2
J.D. Riso
June 2004 Every day, I awaken around eight in the morning. After a breakfast of tea and toast with jam, I set up the restaurant for lunch. Fold napkins…
J.D. Riso
Part 1 of 2
J.D. Riso
And just like that, it's over. The shrieking voices, the jubilant splashes, the shrill drone of motor boats slicing through waves. The aroma of cut…
J.D. Riso
Dear Paid Subscribers, Below is a PDF version of my full-length memoir, Wish I Were Here, which you are welcome to download. Thank you so very much for…
J.D. Riso
“Each day brings a new surprise – another songbird’s voice, new buds emerge, and, finally, wildflowers. Marsh marigolds first, then violets. The …
J.D. Riso
Michigan's Upper Peninsula – September 21, 2018 I am surrounded by waves. Lake Huron on the right. Lake Michigan on the left. They roll back and forth…
J.D. Riso
Hawai’i, U.S.A. – August 1993 The highway from Honolulu to the North Shore slices through naked orange earth. A desolation that I didn't expect. “Those…
J.D. Riso
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