I loved the story behind her dedication to her high school sweetheart husband. It says: "For Mark, who kindled a fire in me with his 1-in-64,000 odds. I love you madly!" I've read a lot of dedications and acknowledgements and listened to a lot of authors speak about the unflagging support they received from their spouses, but this story was different. Mark didn't want to read anything Ka wrote. I understand this. How do you respond when you don't like what your loved one has written? One time when Ka was talking to Mark about publishing this novel he said something like, "You know the odds of getting published are 1 in 64,000." And what impressed me so much about Ka is that it didn't discourage her, it made her more determined. The book has been very successful and has been published in multiple countries. Ka is hard at work on her second novel. Oh, and by the way, Mark loved the book when he finally read it.
What a privilege it was to have her visit our book group. She even put a picture of us on her website.
Ka used her experience as a psychiatric nurse to write this poignant love story of a couple facing the almost insurmountable challenges of mental illness and cancer. Because of my own experiences dealing with loved ones with mental illness and cancer it hit me very deeply. I read it on an airplane and when the sobs hit I was very glad about two things. One, I wasn't sitting by strangers. And two, I was wearing a scarf which did a nice of job of mopping up my wet cheeks.
The support of other women is a powerful thing and our book group has been a safe place for many years. Ka has had long-standing support from her writing group, all published authors, and they rent a house in Oregon twice a year for a writing retreat, which she was missing to come speak to us. :-)
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| Ka is on the front row in stripes with her childhood friend by her side. |
We ended the evening with Juicy's truly luscious dessert:
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan-Gingersnap Crust
Crust:
1 3/4 C gingersnap crumbs (about 30 small cookies)
6 T real butter, melted
3 T brown sugar
3/4 C ground pecans
Filling:
3 8 oz blocks cream cheese
3/4 C canned pumpkin puree
6 oz melted white chocolate (that’s about 1 C white chocolate chips)
1 C sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
1/4 t nutmeg
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t cloves
Topping:
1 C whipping cream, beat with 1/2 tsp vanilla and 4 Tbs powdered sugar until medium peaks form.
1/3 C roughly chopped pecans, either toasted or caramelized
2 Tablespoons jarred caramel sauce
Preheat oven to 350. Using 2 large pieces of heavy duty foil, securely wrap the bottom and outside of your cheesecake pan. This will prevent leaks when using the water bath.
For Crust:
Use a food processor to crush gingersnaps. Then do pecans. Combine gingersnaps, pecans, brown sugar, and butter and stir well to combine. Press into a 9″ spring form pan. Evenly spread across the bottom of pan and up the sides about 1 inch.
To melt chocolate, place in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth. Set aside.
With an electric mixer beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Add pumpkin, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves.
With the mixer running, slowly add in white chocolate in a steady stream (or steady blobs).
Pour mixture on top of the crust.
For water bath:
Place cheesecake pan inside of a larger pan. I use a roasting pan. The larger pan should be at least 2-3 inches in depth. Place in pre-heated oven. With a kettle or pitcher filled with hot water, pour water into the larger pan about halfway up, or approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches.
Bake for 60-75 minutes or until set. The center should be just a tad bit jiggly still. It will finish cooking while cooling.
When it’s done, remove from oven and place on a rack until completely cool. Place in the fridge for at least 12 hours. This is a very soft cheesecake so sufficient chilling is a must!
When ready to serve spread sweetened whipped cream on top, drizzle caramel sauce over it, and sprinkle with pecans.
3 8 oz blocks cream cheese
3/4 C canned pumpkin puree
6 oz melted white chocolate (that’s about 1 C white chocolate chips)
1 C sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
1/4 t nutmeg
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t cloves
Topping:
1 C whipping cream, beat with 1/2 tsp vanilla and 4 Tbs powdered sugar until medium peaks form.
1/3 C roughly chopped pecans, either toasted or caramelized
2 Tablespoons jarred caramel sauce
Preheat oven to 350. Using 2 large pieces of heavy duty foil, securely wrap the bottom and outside of your cheesecake pan. This will prevent leaks when using the water bath.
For Crust:
Use a food processor to crush gingersnaps. Then do pecans. Combine gingersnaps, pecans, brown sugar, and butter and stir well to combine. Press into a 9″ spring form pan. Evenly spread across the bottom of pan and up the sides about 1 inch.
To melt chocolate, place in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth. Set aside.
With an electric mixer beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Add pumpkin, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves.
With the mixer running, slowly add in white chocolate in a steady stream (or steady blobs).
Pour mixture on top of the crust.
For water bath:
Place cheesecake pan inside of a larger pan. I use a roasting pan. The larger pan should be at least 2-3 inches in depth. Place in pre-heated oven. With a kettle or pitcher filled with hot water, pour water into the larger pan about halfway up, or approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches.
Bake for 60-75 minutes or until set. The center should be just a tad bit jiggly still. It will finish cooking while cooling.
When it’s done, remove from oven and place on a rack until completely cool. Place in the fridge for at least 12 hours. This is a very soft cheesecake so sufficient chilling is a must!
When ready to serve spread sweetened whipped cream on top, drizzle caramel sauce over it, and sprinkle with pecans.
