KARA ZAJAC’S JOURNEY FROM HEALING AND MUSIC TO AWARD-WINNING STORYTELLING. - VORAKA

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN VORAKA

Article Published on 28 February 2025 by Gloria Poletti | www.vorakamag.com

Growing up, Gram was my best friend. We shared a double bed in my family’s cottage until I was nine. Fifteen years later, I got the call that she’d fallen and hit her head. All I could see was her mouthing, “Don’t you love me enough to come back home?” I wept on the plane as I began to write her story, the one she’d asked me to write in ninth grade, before I had the capacity to understand why it mattered to her. Her story was about overcoming life’s obstacles with grace and perseverance. Gram and I were polar opposites. I felt men held her down. She’d spent much of her life in poverty, barefoot and pregnant. I was a gay, career-driven, independent decision-maker. Searching through old relics, we found a time capsule in Gram’s drawer, revealing clues to her dark era, her 1957 breakdown. Dark green pills, a bank book, scribbles on an envelope—answers to unasked questions. She survived stress and abuse without things I take for granted: income, a car, and stocked pantry shelves. She did it all with unconditional love, never revealing her pain. I’d spent my adult life avoiding becoming a “traditional” woman, but her death freed something in me. I realized the importance of child-rearing, and understanding a woman like me can balance career and family. Love and support create happy, healthy kids. I could keep Gram with me, passing her wisdom and spirit onto a child, braiding generations together from lifetime to lifetime. "I read, or rather zoomed, through the whole thing. The emotional action just sort of sweeps you along. I had tears in my eyes at the end of Chapter 1." – Mimi Schroeder, APR Max Communications.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kara Zajac is a freelance writer, chiropractor, mother of a daughter, wife, entrepreneur, musician, and diehard romantic. She received her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life College of Chiropractic, and for the last twenty years, she has maintained a private wellness practice in Dawsonville, GA, where she helps people revitalize their lives by healing the brain and body naturally with chiropractic care, energy work, and Braincore Neurofeedback Therapy.

Kara is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist who started playing drums at two years old and currently tours the Southeast with The Jessie Albright Band. She keeps people laughing with her blog, www.karazajac.com. Kara’s debut book, The Significance of Curly Hair: A Loving Memoir of Life and Loss (Atmosphere Press, July 2024), was awarded the Literary Titan Gold Book Award for Nonfiction, The Bookfest First Place Award for Transformational Nonfiction, and was chosen for Independent Book Review’s “Best Books We Read in 2024!” An excerpt from her forthcoming book, The Special Recipe for for Making Babies, was a finalist in 2022’s Charlotte Lit/Lit South Award for Nonfiction. Kara’s work has been published in Scarlet Leaf Review, Imperfect Life Magazine, Ripped Jeans and Bifocals, and Just BE Parenting. Kara has spoken at the 2024 GCLS Annual Conference and Women’s Week in Provincetown and is happy to meet with book clubs and grief support groups. Recently, an excerpt from The Significance of Curly Hair was published in Stigma Fighters, a magazine supporting people battling mental illness. Kara has also been interviewed as part of Christine Waltermyer’s Clean Living Series.

She is a member of the Creative Writing Workshop as well as the National Writers Union and resides in the North Georgia Mountains with her wife, Kim, and daughter, Senia Mae. She just completed her first fiction work, The Waiting is the Hardest Part. Kara can usually be found at home in the kitchen and enjoys sipping wine while hanging her feet off the dock.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KARA ZAJAC

What inspired you to write The Significance of Curly Hair, and how did the process of creating this memoir impact you personally?

I was the age my daughter is now: young, cocky, and sure I had all the answers. Gram, lacing her running shoes, asked, “Would you ever write a story about me?” I scoffed, “But you’ve never done anything.” Her smile faded. I didn’t realize then how much my words hurt, something I’d regret forever. At fourteen, I saw Gram as just a housewife. I didn’t know she survived an abusive marriage, five kids in six years, and her husband’s early death, leaving her penniless. She had a breakdown but came back stronger, vowing never to let stress consume her again.

Determined to live differently, I moved to Atlanta, earned my doctorate, and built my career. When I got the call she had fallen, guilt overwhelmed me. I flew to Boston, but I was too late. Over the phone, I told her I was finally writing her story. Her life mattered. Her strength shaped us. Mom said her heart rate jumped, proof she heard me. Gram feared being forgotten, but I won’t let that happen.

How do your professional experiences as a chiropractor and wellness expert influence your writing? 

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