Obituary: Linda Carley Rippel

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

DURHAM — Greenville Pioneer columnist Pat Larsen has published her first book, a compilation of her monthly columns over the years.

The book, “Reflections: Anything But An Ordinary Life,” is a 242-page tome that is available through Amazon in either hard copy or as an eBook.

“The journey started with the Greenville Pioneer,” Larsen said. “Each of the columns that I wrote has now contributed to the anthology, or the collection, of stories that make up this book.”

In the book’s introduction, Larsen shares that writing is a lifelong dream that she has been able to fulfill.

“Once upon a time, long ago, there was a little girl who had a big dream,” Larsen wrote. “When asked, as was done back in the day, what she wanted to be when she grew up, she boldly replied, ‘I want to be a writer someday!’ That little girl, now a grown-up of sorts, was me.”

In addition to her writing, Larsen is a licensed fitness instructor specializing in exercise for baby boomers and seniors, and she is the creative director for her program Aging With Grace — also the name of her Pioneer column — which provides programming of interest to the populations she serves.

The book features her columns, divided into four categories — “Reflections, Then and Now,” “Seasons of Our Lives,” “Mind and Body Fitness” and “Musings and Observations.”

Over the years, Larsen’s column has reflected on issues as diverse as achieving better sleep, men cooking in the kitchen, pet medicine, nutrition, juggling many roles, and the ghosts of East Durham, among many others.

“It’s very exciting and very satisfying to see all of it in one place,” Larsen said. “I came up with something that I’m quite proud of.”

The book is aimed largely at an older crowd.

“It is definitely geared toward baby boomers and seniors because they are the ones that have come in my purview as I have worked in this community,” she added.

Over the years, Larsen’s offerings have evolved.

“I did meet people by opening a venue for exercise that was unfamiliar to them, but after that I started stepping into the role of educator, which is the work that I have done throughout my life,” Larsen said. “I started educating the community about women’s issues that they had no knowledge of before — urology issues, occupational therapy, how to speak with their doctors, what medications mean — things that I was qualified to talk with them about. If it was something that I was unfamiliar with, I started bringing in professionals from the community to come and talk to the group as well.

“That’s where the interest and the relationship with the community really exploded because even if they didn’t exercise in my class, they wanted to know more and learn more, and I made it reasonably affordable.”

Much of the information that was gleaned from those programs over the years also made its way into Larsen’s column, and now, her book.

“Reflections: Anything But an Ordinary Life” can be purchased on Amazon as a Kindle eBook for $5.99 or in hard copy for $17.99.