Interview with Christee Gabour Atwood

Hi, everyone. I am excited to introduce you to a woman whose career includes being a speaker, corporate trainer, humor columnist, association executive, radio and television personality, stand-up comic, and writer. Thank you, Christee, for visiting with us today. Your life sounds exciting. First, I’d like to ask you about your book, Three Feet Under: Journal of a Midlife Crisis. What a great title. Here are my questions:

BEV:  Tell us what prompted you to write this book.  

CHRISTEE:  It was therapy. And it was a lot cheaper than a psychiatrist! 

I found myself writing a humor column about the thrills and spills of midlife and discussing this wonderful time of life with others.

• Buying an exercise bike and using it as a coat rack.
• Deciding that cheesecake and Prozac have basically the same healing properties.
• Realizing that I have a “fat end” in my closet.
• Spending a morning trying to look cool as I search for my car in the mall parking lot.
• Listing my hair color on forms as “Number 168”.

 And, in sharing these stories, I realized that more people needed to know they weren’t alone. Because one person going through this midlife crisis thing is depressing. When we talk about it and realize we’re all going through the same things, it changes from depressing to funny. 

BEV:  In the prologue of your book you state: “Midlife – It’s a four-letter word … if you’re a really bad speller. But it’s also extremely funny if you look at it right … or if you ignore it … or if you sleep through as much of it as possible.”           You clearly have a sense of humor. Tell us a little about the topics your book covers. 

CHRISTEE:

Some of my chapters include:

• ‘Midlife Crisis 101’-- That one is about the first time I was called ma’am by a young man I thought was ‘checking me out’.
• ‘Mr. Communication and Miss Communication’ is about the differences in what men and women mean when they speak. (Sort of my own version of ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Downtown Akron’.) 
• ‘Mom is a Four-Letter Word’ – I don’t think I have to explain that one.
• ‘Don’t Run With Scissors or Your Face Will Stick Like That’ is about the many lessons I’ve learned over the past years. Valuable stuff like learning to act like you’re in a parade when you’re stuck in a traffic jam. Just wave and smile.

 And there are lots more chapters that will make people feel really good about themselves because they haven’t embarrassed themselves by admitting they did these things in a book. 

BEV:  What do you hope readers gain from your book? 

CHRISTEE:

I hope people realize that they are members of an elite club and there are no dues, aside from a few gray hairs and wrinkles. And I hope they realize that talking about this time makes you realize how funny it is.

 It’s also the perfect size for fixing that short table leg, but I’d prefer that not be the main use for the book… 

BEV:  Do you have other works in progress? 

CHRISTEE:

Right now I have a couple of business books coming out. How scary is that? People actually trusting me to write about business??? Whew…

I’m also working on the sequel to this book. It’s called “In Celebration of Elastic Waistbands” and it’s lots of fun because it celebrates getting comfortable in our own skins.

I’ve also got a children’s Christmas story, a couple of romantic comedies, and a humorous business book. I always have a number of writings in progress because I have the attention span of a gnat and get bored if I just work on one thing at a time. 

BEV:  Which of your other achievements, besides writing, have you enjoyed the most? 

CHRISTEE: 

I’ve really enjoyed my speaking engagements because I get to see an instant response to my words. There is nothing so wonderful to me as making people laugh. Especially when I’m actually trying to. I’ve always made them laugh unintentionally … but hey, the salon girl told me it was a real hairstyle. How was I to know that it made me look like a Q-tip?

I also loved being a Universal Studios tour guide. I not only learned to point to my left and my right, but I felt like I made peoples’ vacations better.  

In fact, I’ve loved most of the things I’ve had an opportunity to do. I’ve worked for minimum wage and maximum wage. I raced an elephant and was a crew member in a hot air balloon race. I went on a whale-watching expedition. I did stand-up comedy and didn’t get hit by a single rotten tomato. I took a motorcycle course and discovered that I’m even more dangerous on two wheels than four. I gained 30 pounds, lost them, and then found them again. And last month I got to celebrate my dad’s 94^th birthday. Now if I can just get him to consider retiring.

So, I feel like I’ve had a charmed life. I’m not rich, not famous, and not skinny. And I’m perfectly happy. How can you beat that??? (Oh yeah, I guess by being rich, famous, skinny and perfectly happy… Wish I hadn’t realized that…)

Life is so darn good, you’d think I was Johnny Depp’s masseuse. Oops, did I say that out loud?

BEV:  What are your future plans? More radio, TV? 

CHRISTEE: 

If they continue to let me back on radio and TV I’ll keep doing those interviews. However, when I worked in television I learned that the camera adds ten pounds. The show I did used three cameras, so I gained 30 pounds and have never been able to get rid of them… Thus, I don’t think I’ll get back into that as a career again.  I’m also working on a stage play version of my books that should be a kick to tour with. I love the roar of greasepaint, the smell of the crowd … hmmm, something isn’t quite right with that line…  

BEV:  Do you have some words of wisdom for those pursuing a writing career? A career in radio or TV? 

CHRISTEE:

If you’re going into a writing career, do it because you love to write. If you go into it for the money you’re going to be in for a real shock. Ms Rowling and Mr. Grisham have done well with it, but the rest of us often are just thrilled if Mr. Electricity Bill gets paid.  Radio and TV are really fun careers. The only problem is going to the grocery store takes longer because you get self-conscious about going out without makeup on. Oh, and I used to forget I had my television makeup on and I’d go out looking like a hooker. A little error there, but I almost ended up making extra money because of it.  If someone is interested in radio or TV, they might want to consider creating their own “intern” program to see if they like it. Run the board at a radio station during the recorded weekly countdown shows. Volunteer to run cameras during the local PBS station membership drive. Any experience is good experience! 

BEV:  How can your readers reach you? Web site? Blog? Other? 

CHRISTEE: My website is Christee.biz.

I have a blog that I’ve just started at http://elasticwaistbands.blogspot.com/

And look out if you end up in an elevator with me. I love captive audiences. I like to turn around in the elevator and say, “I suppose you wonder why I called this meeting.”

I love hearing from readers. They’re what makes writing the most fun. They remind me that I’m not alone in this midlife crisis thing! And that’s the best thing of all about sharing experiences in a book. 

Thank you again for sharing your experiences and time with us. Good luck with your future projects.