A mutual friend sent this story to me a few days ago. Those of us who know and love Char were terribly upset and worried about her. If you don't know her, she took over Suzanne Byerley's creative writing classes when Suz moved to Ohio. She is a past Executive Director of the Mendocino Coast Writers' Conference, where her focus was creating a safe place for diverse voices. I was in a writing group with her. Those of you who have read Lost in the River Grass may recognize her influence.
I'm going to tell you right up front that she's doing better. Much better. This then becomes, not just her brush with a scary health issue, but our society's brush with another scary disease--the metastasizing of bigotry.