Author Archives: Judith Pettersen

There are times when I’m pulled from my comfortable life by uncertain events. I’m no longer running on autopilot, which is how we all live when things are going well.  A few months ago I was flying to Winnipeg and ready for take-off when the flight attendant approached me. She spoke in a low tone,Continue reading “Up In the Air”

I think of myself as a moderate health nut, eating well and exercising. I never sign up for extreme sports and I won’t become a Vegan. (But I should be a vegan. I feel so guilty.) So when my friend…let’s call her S….told me about her new health kick, I was intrigued but a bitContinue reading “Shut Your Mouth”

 My journey with dark chocolate started a number of years ago with a desperately whispered prayer. As I lay on the sofa, a half-eaten Easter Bunny in hand, (not the live kind…I’m not that bad) and a tub of ice cream resting on my stomach, I said this to God.  “Please! Help me get offContinue reading “Cadmium and Lead in My Chocolate? Oh My”

I enjoy all kinds of dystopian fiction. Alien invasions, futuristic thrillers…any movie or series where things aren’t looking too good. Because no matter how messed up our world is, we’re not there yet and hopefully never will be. The thing I don’t like about shows like Mad Max-Fury Road, the Walking Dead, or Water World,Continue reading “How Canadians Dress for the Apocalypse”

I’m not trying to compare myself with the protagonist of the novel, ‘Divergent,’ who jumps from the platform of a speeding train to land on the roof of a tall building. I’d be dead before the book got started. But I believe the title accurately describes the strange routes and mysterious highways inside my brain. Continue reading “Divergent”

This is an article I wrote for Broadview Magazine. I hope you enjoy it.

As I said before, there’s strange ASMR stuff on the web. Videos of people tapping  rubber ducks, caressing microphones or making strange sounds like they’re about to throw up. Who finds that relaxing? I like the videos with hair brushing and neck massages. Nothing kinky, just calming. Except in certain situations. Not long ago IContinue reading “These Vexing Moments”

 My journey re-reading the classic literature of my youth (so far.) 1. Dracula by Bram Stoker 2. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 3. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens  I finished the last one recently and gave it a hearty two thumbs up. I know…it’s already a classic and doesn’t need my approval. But thatContinue reading “Great Expectations”

I once sat for two hours in the living room of a friend without noticing that she’d changed all her furniture. For a writer, I’m remarkably unobservant. I would be a terrible witness should a crime happen in front of me, mixing up what I saw with the plot of my last novel. I tendContinue reading “Strange Things are Happening”

 While preparing for my children’s annual summer visit, I decided to revisit a novel I last read at the age of nineteen. War and Peace is not a page turner, and the war parts were especially boring to a young woman trying to figure out her own world. I picked the audio book this time,Continue reading “60 Hours”