Relevant to my interests

In 48 hours this week I bought, devoured, and finished Liz Strout's newest novel, Lucy by the Sea. To say it is relative to my interests is the understatement of 2022. Like my own novel currently in search of a publishing home, Lucy by the Sea is set in early pandemic days. It's so strange to read about what is already a period piece, less than a toddler's life ago. Depressing. Inspiring. Reminding really - I'm not alone in blocking out certain memories from that period, even having placed the last third of my own novel there. Each revision brought it back fresh, and that was not always a welcome experience.

There's much to mourn with Lucy in this gorgeous book by Strout. But I also leave feeling a new appreciation for all of us. The resiliency we've had to dig so deep for, the humanity we've held onto amid such painful, isolating, confusing, and divisive times. The tiny steps we each took to keep going, to stay connected to loved ones, to hold onto our dreams, our humor. Good glory!

If you need a novel written by a deeply compassionate writer with a deeply feeling narrator and a compassionate, sweeping view of humanity that lays it bare, get thee to an independent bookstore and pick up Lucy by the Sea.

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My Litquake 2012 Report

I've been avoiding putting this together, because a part of me really doesn't want this year's Litquake festival to be over already. The other part of me is still cranky-tired, wandering around trying to get to all those projects I said I'd get to after Litquake, and feeling post-Christmas like. In short, this year's Litquake was AMAZING. Every year has been awesome, but this one was particularly special for me because I got to actually help plan the awesome. As a volunteer during the festival for the past several years, I definitely felt like I contributed to making each event I helped at awesome, but this year, being on the committee,* I got to witness the tremendous build up to the festival that happens the whole year prior. The amount of love, sweat and time that goes into it is incredible, and I'm not sure I've ever been part of something so cool. Which is not to say I'm not still cranky-tired and looking forward to feeling fully recovered.

Love These Days

What love looks like these days in my tiny corner of the world. Or, what I'm loving these days. Books: These have brought me so much delight and escape and hope lately: Housebreaking , by Colleen Hubbard The Swimmers , by Julie Otsuka A Life in Light; meditations on impermanence, by Mary Pipher Rules for Visiting , by Jessica Francis Kane This Time Tomorrow, by Emma Straub Unsheltered, by Barbara Kingsolver Hunt, Gather, Parent , by Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD Podcasts (the links will take you to specific episodes that moved me): Crazy Good Turns HerMoney with Jean Chatzky The Lazy Genius Podcast Mega Moms Don't Have Time to Grieve Unpublished We Can Do Hard Things On Being Death, Sex and Money I was going to add another category here and then I realized all I've been consuming lately are books and podcasts. :) I love a book or podcast recommendation! What have you read or heard lately that has made your heart sing, your world grow, or brought you solace?

What To Expect When You Are Expecting A Pandemic

“When I think about all that has to transpire to get from pregnancy to the birth, I am overwhelmed by time and the unknown. It’s not useful to contemplate. There is only today, and it is good.” I documented my move from ambivalence about parenting, to IVF, to motherhood, as well as all of Year One. I did it longhand because that’s what I did back then. So now, finally, I’m typing all those pages up, in part because of the great What If that living amid a pandemic creates. And I came across this yesterday and it is so true for the current moment, for this, the fifth week of Sheltering in Place. Ways this time is like pregnancy: It can make you fat. It will definitely make you crave near-constant meals and snacks. You will swing from feeling good to anxiety-laden, angry, irritable and back again several times a day. You will want to know how this will all unfold, how hard it will get, exactly how you and your life will be changed. You can’t know any of that. Ther

Invincible Summer

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