La Bloga: Count on Me: Tales of Sisterhoods and Fierce Friendships

Melinda Palacio

Las Comadres Para Las Americas shares the power of literature and friendship. On Friday, La Bloga covered their upcoming Comadres and Compadres Writers Conference next month, October 6, in New York.

For those that cannot take advantage of the Comadres Writers Conference, a new book, out next month, Count on Me: Tales ofSisterhoods and Fierce Friendships, offers readers a view into the role of comadres and compadres for authors; there's one essay by compadre Luis Alberto Urrea.

Nora Comstock is always busy, but the next two months might prove her busiest with the writers conference and publication launch party of Count on Me at La Casa Azul Bookstore, September 20, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 143 E. 103rd Street, NY, NY.

Comstock, the founder of the international and national group, talks about seeing the book in print.

"I have the advanced reading copy and I sleep with it! It is the most amazing feeling to have it actually finished. It seems like a dream. Everything seemed to get done so fast. When you work with consummate professionals, it is a seamless process. I did not expect it to go so smoothly. Writing the intro was very hard both because I am not a writer and because I had so much to say. I kept trying to put all my feelings and thoughts into a small space. They had to cut a lot."

The book is inspiring to anyone who's ever relied on a friend, not just any friend, but the kind of friend you know will be there for you no matter what. One of my good friends and comadres, Reyna Grande, is in the anthology. Reyna's moving memoir, The Distance Between Us, is garnering rave reviews. A modified chapter from her memoir is in Count on Me. Reyna writes about her teacher and mentor, Diana Savas. Diana is a perfect example of a comadre because she immediately recognized that Reyna needed more than a friend and offered to fulfill the role of family, confidant and nurturer in order to support a young woman, very much like herself, who wanted to do well in college. Thanks to her comadre Diana, Reyna went on to publish two novels and a memoir and participate in the Las Comadres Book Club as an author and presenter. Reyna says she felt very honored to contribute to the anthology:

"The topic was especially appealing because I immediately thought of my former teacher and mentor as the subject of my piece. I'm grateful to las Comadres for giving me the chance to thank my teacher publicly for what she did for me."

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