Author: Yvonne Hertzberger

Yvonne Hertzberger is a native of the Netherlands who immigrated to Canada in 1950. She is an alumna of The University of Waterloo, with degrees in psychology and Sociology. Her Fantasy trilogy, ‘Earth’s Pendulum’ has been well received. Learn more about Yvonne at her blog and her Amazon author page.

Everyone Has a Story

Everyone has a story. I’m not talking about a fictional tale they can create. I’m referring to the story of their real lives, the experiences and difficulties they have faced or are in the midst of.

Everyone has one – a story. It’s often my first thought when someone shares the painful parts of their life with me. The more I connect with people the more this truth become apparent. It happens a lot. Maybe that means I’m a good listener. I like to think I’m also a good observer.

The majority of the general population is extroverted, or so the experts tell me – as high as 90% in North America according to some profiles. So these people will, in all likelihood show the effects of their ‘story’ mostly in their overt behaviours, in observable ways. We may not know what their stories are unless they tell us but they tend to act it out more than think it out. Continue reading “Everyone Has a Story”

Man, I Love Words

Yvonne Hertzberger
Author Yvonne Hertzberger

As writers, words are our currency, an unfortunate term perhaps, considering so few of us can actually eke out a living with them.

Yesterday, on LinkedIn a few of us pondered the correct way to spell a word. (wet-stone, whetstone, wetstone – you get the idea). That was fun and got me thinking about words. I remembered my grade eleven English class. Our assignment was to write a short story. I wrote one I was proud of. It had great characters, a gripping plot and lots of tension. Even the setting added to the tone. Now, I liked that teacher, respected her. And she gave me a good mark, 80% I think. Her only critique was that my prose was “terse”. I was crushed. One single-syllable word and nothing else mattered. Continue reading “Man, I Love Words”

To Face the Fear – And Become by Yvonne Hertzberger

Author Yvonne Hertzberger
Author Yvonne Hertzberger

If someone had told me when I retired from paid employment at age 56 that I would be a writer, author of two books in six years, I would have laughed it off. Sure! Right! Me an author. Inwardly I would have groaned with unfulfilled longing never believing the idea anything more than a pipe dream.

Every journey starts with a first step. Many first steps are baby steps – mine were – tentative, fearful, and lacking finesse or confidence. Perhaps my journey will inspire others to take those baby steps and eventually stride with pride.

You see, when you are raised in the shadow of a man whose tyranny demands that all thoughts and actions must perfectly reflect his own view, that every behaviour must be exactly what he expects, even when you have no idea what that is, growing up, ‘becoming’, is not a viable option. Original thoughts, ones that did not mirror his became sources of ridicule or rage. I learned to see the world through veils of distrust. I distrusted myself and others others. I feared success. I feared failure. Continue reading “To Face the Fear – And Become by Yvonne Hertzberger”