Pamela is recognized as a gifted storyteller both in print and in person.
Pamela’s love of writing began in the fifth grade when she won a regional essay contest with a story of how her family survived a blizzard. Since then she has co-authored several books, contributed to the anthology, Songs of Ourselves, written a regular opinion column for Tribune Media, appeared in numerous magazines and journals, and had her poetry published in the New York Times.
Samples of Pamela’s writing are available by scrolling down…
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Arrows of Light... The Journeys of Afghan Women
You will be inspired by these first-hand accounts written by the women of Afghanistan...those that were able to escape the Taliban, and those who were not. Arrows of Light, tells of the choices that were made from leaving everything behind to find safety and freedom, or choosing to stay and risk everything in hope of being a catalyst for change.
Compiled and edited by Pamela Varkony, Arrows of Light... The Journeys of Afghan Women, will inspire you with its portraits of courage and determination.
Arrows of Light is published under the imprint of the International Women's Writing Guild.
Chicken Soup for the Soul:
Be You: 101 Stories of Affirmation,
Determination and Female Empowerment
Pam is published in this wonderful new book! Read her story "Legacy of Love"... A tale that begins with the heart-wrenching loss of a daughter and ends with the inspirational effort to save someone else's daughter half way around the world.
The State of Women: Milestones, Suffragettes, and Pole Dances
This year, 2020, marked two meaningful milestones for American women: The 200th birthday of Susan B. Anthony, a founder and leader of the women’s suffrage movement, and the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment granting women that right to vote: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex". Yet we find ourselves in this anniversary year looking out on a political landscape Anthony and her Suffragettes would likely find discouraging. The number of female voters has exceeded the number of male voters in every election since 1964. Why are we not wielding our power to have better options?
Our Lost Tohickon Valley
Pamela Varkony and her co-author conducted countless interviews and engaged in extensive research to produce their history of Upper Bucks County in the early Twentieth Century. “Our Lost Tohickon Valley” provides a riveting look at the lives, loves, and lifestyles of a unique and beautiful part of the country. Well received and reviewed, “Our Lost Tohickon Valley” is in its third printing.
“Our Lost Tohickon Valley” is available for download on Amazon. Please visit my Amazon Author’s Page.
“Songs of Ourselves”
Dedicated to the idea that everyone’s individual story—not just those who live in the glare of the celebrity spotlight—is essential to the bigger story of who we are.
This quintessential American point of view is captured beautifully in journals and blogs, letters, in unedited and unreflective short bursts of observation and it is what we are celebrating in Songs of Ourselves.
Pamela’s contributions of short essays and poems to this unique collection is titled “We Live”. It is dedicated to the knowledge that we are all fellow travelers on the same journey; we may be visiting different locations but our final destination is the same. There is the regret of an un-extended kindness in Karma; the wondering of what it’s all about in Destiny; remembrances of a childhood friend who was always Side by Side; and the chilling account of a kayaking accident in Old Man River.
Published by Blue Heron Book Works: Songs of Ourselves is available on Amazon. Please visit my Amazon Author’s Page.
Journalism
Pamela is a recipient of a Pennsylvania Women’s Press Association Excellence in Journalism Award for Editorial Writing. Her commentaries, essays, and features appear regularly in newspapers, magazines, and online.
Contact Pamela about your next writing project.
For Good: Kindness Matters reaches out to homeless in Tampa
In Tampa, FL, Dr. Sylvia Campbell and her Kindness Matters volunteers, many of whom are breast cancer survivors, provide food, comfort and a lifeline to the homeless. Accompanying the group on their journey was a lesson in charity and grace. The experience begs the question, "How does someone's baby end up with a piece of cardboard for a bed?"
A glimpse inside Army War College's work to protect national security
The discussions and analysis to which I was privy during my time at the War College National Security Seminar are not the stuff of Hollywood action-adventure movies, they are possible scenarios for which we must be prepared. The soldiers leading those discussions, formulating that analysis and preparing to respond are the stuff of Hollywood: Smart, educated and dedicated heroes, determined to keep us safe.
Unfortunately it may take years for Me Too movement to change men's behavior toward women
The country is at the beginning of a cultural shift. The Me Too movement began in October 2017 when The New York Times published what would become a Pulitzer Prize-winning story, which included a bombshell interview with actress Ashley Judd, accusing movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of being a serial sexual predator. The floodgates opened.
A Day In The Life: On the Road With The Toomey Campaign
On an early autumn day of above average temperatures and cloudless Pennsylvania blue sky, the morning starts with a bang for Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey. As he begins his remarks to the faithful gathered at the Republican State Committee meeting in the Harrisburg Hilton, a photographer standing on a chair behind the podium falls off the stage and comes crashing to the floor.
Afghanistan Translator Now Living Among His Heroes
Several weeks ago, my phone rang late enough in the evening that it startled me. The caller ID said only “Texas.” The voice at the other end was almost unintelligible because of a bad connection and a strong accent. Thinking it was a wrong number or prank call, I was about to hang up when I realized the person was saying “Palmula”: “Palmula, it is Mohammad, your friend from Afghanistan.” “Why does the caller ID say Texas?” I asked. “I am here, Palmula, I am here.”
Surviving Cancer Is Part Of Women’s History, Too
Hope was in the air as a group of ”over 40” women gathered to celebrate the survival of one of their own. Standing in the March chill, they posed for a group photograph, each holding a pink balloon. The guest of honor said ”Cheese!” and the moment was digitally frozen in time as the balloons drifted toward Heaven. Better them than the soul of a friend.
Betrayed Wives Message? Don’t Hurt Political Chances
In one of the most stunning self-inflicted wounds seen since a blue dress got stuffed into a bag instead of sent to the cleaners, New York governor, and once-probable presidential candidate Eliot Spitzer resigned amid allegations he was a regular customer of a high-priced prostitution ring. Watching Silda Spitzer stand by her husband before the cameras was painful to see.
Michele Norris Interview
In the middle of a hectic afternoon, with the phone ringing constantly and a deadline looming, I had decided to let voice mail take my calls for the rest of the day when the caller ID caught my attention: National Public Radio said the display, followed by a strangely familiar velvety voice on the machine, saying, “Hello, this is Michele Norris, (ME-shell as in the Beatles song), from All Things Considered”.
Underwear and Underworld
A fellow freelance writer called last week with an intriguing invitation: She had interviewed Ian Kerner, the author of the pop culture best seller, Be Honest…You’re Not That Into Him Either. My friend was invited to the book launch party in New York City: The venue was the famous, and for you Sex and the City buffs, the familiar, club/bar, BED. Surely they didn’t really have just beds. There had to be tables and chairs somewhere…there weren’t.
Civilian Casualties Hurt Mission In Afghanistan
The handsome young man in the hospital bed in Kabul, Afghanistan, manages a weak smile but it makes the surgical tape around his neck tighten against his wound and the smile vanishes. On a chair next to the bed, his mother rocks back and forth, repeating over and over an incantation to Allah for her son’s recovery.
Women’s Health Magazine: Action Figures
A heavy gold curtain is pulled across the glass doors of a three-story building in the heart of downtown Kabul. There’s no sign outside, but local women know what’s hidden here. It’s Venus, one of the capital’s first women-only gyms, founded by fitness lover Nargis Shearzad.
Pennsylvania Magazine: Nostalgia on Main Street
In the days before Walmart, Kmart and Target, when I was growing up in Quakertown, Bucks County, the Sine’s 5&10 Cent Store was like a child’s wonderland filled with toys, gadgets, cherry Cokes and a train that chugged around the walls near the ceiling. A trip to Town was always an event, but when it included a walk through those double wooden doors, it became an adventure.
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Pamela Varkony
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