Linda Malcolm
My first book, titled Cornfields to Codfish, launched in November 2019. From milking cows on the farm in Iowa to picking up mermaid’s purses on the beach in Massachusetts, Cornfields to Codfish celebrates the Midwest and New England via short personal essays. In the bonus section, "A Menagerie of Recipes," readers are lured to their kitchens with 18 sundry recipes: from lefse and devil's food cake to swordfish and scones. For more book details, click the link below.
Born in Iowa, I was raised on a dairy farm surrounded by cornfields, and now I live north of Boston near that liquid farm called the Atlantic. My British husband Bill and I adopted our sons, Will and Liam, from South Korea. They were each just a few months old when we brought them home. In 2009, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through surgeries, chemo, and radiation. Today, cancer-free, I have curly hair. Chemo curls.
Throughout the last ten years or so, I have been writing short, non-fiction, personal essays. In 2018, I was honored to be selected as one of sixteen non-fiction writers to attend the annual New York State Summer Writers Institute at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.
For a taste of what I write, you can peck through some of my readers’ favorite musings below. May you find something here that tickles your fancy... or your funny bone.
Fan Favorites
Iowa: Big Sky Iowa
The Senses: Sensory Trickery: The Bath
Memories: Three Tines
Mindfulness: Counting to Thirty
Inspiration: From Summer to Fall
Travel: Narrow Boat Navigation
Food & spiders: Discovering Burrata
Humor: Have You Laughed Today?
Raising Teens: Forty-eight Hours with Will
New England: Yankee Living
Home: Shabby-Chic-Practical
Seasons: Snow Shoes
Surviving Breast Cancer: Life by the Numbers
As for me, The Laundry Maven is near and dear to my heart.
Inspiration
Below is the bucket list I’ve been privileged to live thus far. My brain pulls bits from all of this together, resulting in the essays posted on this site and in my book, Cornfields to Codfish.
An Iowan
Holstein cow tail holder, growing up on a dairy farm in Iowa
Bean walker, pulling volunteer corn from beans
Rock collector, picking up big rocks from fields and tossing them on hay racks in Iowa
Tractor driver, pulling a side rake to turn hay at 10 years old – 9 perhaps?
Chicken plucker
Strawberry stemmer, bean snapper, and pea podder
Drum major
Clarinet and saxophone player
Bank teller
Luther College student, Business major & English minor
Assistant to Political Science Department
Scraper of plates at 6 a.m. in the college cafeteria
An Illinoisan
Metal-fabricating magazine ad representative
Bride to a Brit
Flower gardener
Sundstrand Aerospace cost accountant
Northern Illinois University student, Master’s in Communication, on the 8-year plan
Wedding consultant & event planner
Fundraising director for national non-profit
Administrative director for small local theater renovation project
Adjunct English instructor at a community college
Italian deli worker, perfectly over-qualified for that job
Adult piano student
Freelance writer
Infertility survivor
A Commonwealth of Massachusetts resident
Adoptive mom, twice
Breast cancer survivor
School volunteer: board member; Egyptian cook; field trip driver; homework overseer; Chinese New Year decorator and activity provider; Duk Guk (Korean New Year’s Soup) preparer
Traveler
Cook – in-home short order and, occasionally, something more complicated than mac’n’cheese
Small farm supporter – vegetable and meat CSA’s
Sailor, crew not captain
Skier (Green runs only - I don't need to prove anything on the slopes.)
Golfer (Honestly, I just own golf clubs and keep them in the loft.)
Walker
Linda Malcolm: Writer of Literary Non-fiction; Creative Non-fiction; and Personal Essays
One of my favorite places… the barn on Mom and Dad’s farm — where we milked cows when I was growing up.