Aimée Brender and Susan Brender are the authors of Fear is Better Dressed in Polka Dots – 2 Sisters Get Creative in a Time of Crisis. This is therr story
Aimée, a pattern designer by trade, is an artistic, funny, caring, optimistic realist, and a daydreamer since childhood. She is cautious, restrained, and responsible, a follower of rules, and a worrier by nature. Susan, an English major with a mixed bag of a career history, is an unruly, irreverent, tattooed, rebellious, atheist, who is ironically, both romantic and cynical. She is a raw, sometimes loud, pseudo-intellectual yogi, black cat lover, and the owner of a broken heart. Together they make up Aimée and Sue – Sisters Say Stuff, a newly formed creative collaboration.
What is your book about?
Fear Is Better Dressed In Polka Dots is a quirky and creative compilation of intimate journal entries that we (Aimée and Sue) wrote and shared with each other through our family’s experience of multiple cancer diagnoses (including Aimée’s) during the time of pandemic. The excerpts are sometimes heavy and sometimes silly but always punctuated by colorful hand drawn doodles and interspersed with a few invitations for the reader to write their own thoughts or do a little cathartic coloring. It’s great for anyone who has gone or is going through struggles of their own or for those who enjoy being a fly on the wall of someone else’s life!
Why did you want to write this book?
We chose to embark on this creative journey to help carry us through the challenges we were facing and to uplift ourselves in the process. It also was and is our hope that others might benefit from our experiences.
What was the most difficult part about writing the book? The most rewarding?
The most difficult part of writing this book was a combination of grappling with how personal the material was and working on it in such a time of uncertainty. The most rewarding thing about it came in the form of all the time we spent together and the fun we had.
*What do you hope other people will take away from reading your book?
We hope our book will make people smile and leave them feeling like they aren’t alone in their struggles.
What’s next for you?
We’re currently working on a variety of projects, some new and some as potential “sister” projects to our current book. Soon we hope to publish a little guided journal of sorts which can stand on its own but also act as a companion to Fear Is Better Dressed In Polka Dots.
*How can our readers get a copy of your book?
*What is the best way for our readers to connect with you? (website url, social media links – we do not publish emails)
You can find us on social media at:
www.facebook.com/aimeeandsue
www.instagram.com/aimeeandsue