Rivenbark

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Scotland Memorial Foundation will mark its 10th Annual Women’s Health Event next weekend with noted author Celia Rivenbark.

Rivenbark is a native of Duplin County, who spent a 20-year journalistic career at the Wallace Enterprise and Wilmington Morning Star before becoming a mother at age 40. She currently lives in Wilmington with her husband and daughter and writes a weekly humor column for the Sun-News in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

She has written six books, including “We’re Just Like You, Only Prettier” and “Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny With A Chance of Scattered Hissy Fits,” several of which have been nominated for the James Thurber Prize for American Humor. Her 2006 book, “Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like A Skank,” was named best title of the year by Entertainment Weekly.

For the Women’s Health Event, Rivenbark’s keynote address will reveal the humor in women’s’ everyday predicaments.

“I think I’m one of many - a working woman who also has people of all ages depending on her,” said Rivenbark. “There’s an awful lot of us out there and my job, the way I look at it, is to find the humor in that situation to keep us from going crazy.”

Much of her subject matter is drawn from personal experience, and rarely strays far from the South and related topics. But Rivenbark’s talk will be accessible to all women.

“I will talk about diet and exercise and menopause in a humorous way,” she said. “I probably will also talk about generational issues; I’m sort of the poster woman for the sandwich generation in that so many women are taking care of elderly parents at the same time we’re raising children, particularly teenagers. I’ll deal with coping with the stress of dealing with two generations under the same roof.”

Though humorous, Rivenbark’s points will also carry a message to women suffering through medical issues.

“If you can find the humor in anything, you can survive it,” said Rivenbark.

Registration for the event, themed Learn, Laugh, and Love, is still open and can be completed at www.scotlandhealth.org.

For event information and registration, click on “Health Information for Women” on the homepage for more event information and the registration form. Registration will be capped at 200 attendees.

The event will begin at 7 a.m. on Feb. 2 at First United Methodist Church with several health screenings before breakfast at 8:30 a.m.

Each participant will then attend three breakout sessions of their choice, with 25-50 person discussion sections led by dietitians, diabetes educators, and other health professionals. Topics will range from cancer to diabetes, osteoporosis, and women’s safety.