Kate Walter Behind the Mask: Rave review

Red Hook Star Review

Walter recorded what was happening in real time (many of the essays were originally published in the Manhattan newspaper The Village Sun) so they have a fantastic immediacy. She writes in a clear way with an eye for interesting details. Her observations poke awake our own dormant memories and make us realize things we’d noticed, but had forgotten, busy as we were absorbing so much change.
Walter lives alone in a 600-square-foot apartment in Westbeth Artists Housing, a naturally occurring retirement community in the West Village. Finding herself alone after a decades-long relationship goes belly up, she never gives up hope for a chance to have one more great romance.

-Michael Quinn
March 11, 2022

Read entire article here: Red Hook Star Review

Kate Walter’s Book Behind the Mask was chosen by Pretty Progressive.com as one of the ’16 Most Powerful Books on Courage for Adults”

https://prettyprogressive.com/16-powerful-books-about-courage-for-adults/

Kate Walter loved her life as a single gay woman living in New York City’s famous Westbeth Artists Housing in Greenwich Village. She was in that sweet spot—recently retired from a long teaching career, but hardly retired, she was living the dream. Finally, her time was her own, a chance to expand and explore.

She was embedded in a vibrant artistic community. She was a published writer, met friends for lunch, went to museums, and concerts, and readings. She took yoga classes and belonged to a writing workshop, a singing group, a church. She celebrated all the holidays with her family in New Jersey.

In early 2020, the lively community of Westbeth Artists Housing was gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary. But when New York City went into Covid 19 pandemic lockdown, Westbeth turned into a ghost town. Kate’s carefully constructed social life crashed. Suddenly, she was trapped at home, living in the pandemic epicenter. The brief conversations with masked neighbors in the hallway or on the sidewalk became her lifeline. Her life moved onto Zoom and she took comfort watching worship services streamed every Sunday. Then the unimaginable happened. Her church burned down in a six-alarm fire. Now there literally would be no sanctuary left to return to after the pandemic – whenever that would be.

Kate was lonely and scared. The isolation was hard on everyone. For cultural creators, perhaps an extra degree of hard. She melted down in lockdown. She dreamed the city was on fire. She hit the wall. But she picked herself up and called upon her resilience and spiritual practices to stay safe and get through the isolation. In a welcome break from the pandemic, she celebrated in front of the Stonewall Inn when Biden won the election. And she started penning columns for The Village Sun, a local community publication. Writing became her salvation. Behind the Mask Living Alone in the Epicenter is Kate’s memoir in essays detailing her life from March 2020-May 2021 about this traumatic time in New York City.

More than a year later, as Westbeth and New York City reawakened, Kate emerged with a deeper appreciation for her home and the everyday things she took for granted. As she gradually took off her mask and started to enjoy life again, she felt forever changed.

Kate Walter gave a reading of her memoir, Behind the Mask, at the Westbeth Community Room on Dec 1, 2021

Behind the Mask: Living Alone in the Epicenter
By Kate Walter
Heliotrope Books
November 16, 2021
Nonfiction; Memoir Of Essays
Price: $16.00 paper; $8.99 e-book
ISBN: 978-1-942762-81-2 paperback; 136 pages
978-1-942762-82-9 e-book

BONUS CONTENT
• 12 Pandemic Writing Prompts and blank pages for the reader to journal their own Covid 19 Pandemic lockdown memories
Writing helped me cope with anxiety, and I felt it was important to record what was going on during this unprecedented time. Now it’s your turn to journal about your experiences during the pandemic. Here are some prompts to use as some jumping-off points. -Kate Walter
• Part Two: Life Before the Pandemic – four additional essays by the author

PODCAST WITH KATE WALTER An Interview about the book.

INTERVIEW WITH KATE WALTER: Magnification of Memory