"She's on her way out." So says the CNA charged with day care of my a-mother six days out of seven for the two-and-a-half years. She's been in a state of decline for weeks; her death, when it comes, will likely be labeled a combination of broken hip/fall related trauma and old age. The fall,... Continue Reading →
The Brea[d]ths of July
July 13, 2012, at 7:30 AM This has always been my least favorite day of summer.The one where my child goes off to her father's for a month.The one where my role - and need for my services - abruptly stops. In some years, she will return and tell me they forbid her to call... Continue Reading →
2020: A Year to Memoir Project
In December 2019, I signed on to work with Anne Heffron to coach my writing into something, hopefully, resembling a memoir. We began in January, talking almost weekly for the last six months about process and personal truth and good storytelling. Today July 1 - the halfway point - writing something still feels very big... Continue Reading →
"Why can’t our job here on earth be simply to inspire each other?"Graham Joyce
On [trying to] write a memoir during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week or maybe yesterday, my writing teacher, Anne, asked for a paragraph on what it is like to write personal essays while quarantined at home. Four pages and a glass of iced Effen blood orange vodka later, this is what I sent her. Noting after the fact the "a paragraph" stipulation. She graciously accepted... Continue Reading →
Nostalgia Table [Nov. 2019]
Thanksgiving will be small but not infelicitous. Which is to say there will be just three of us seated at the table, not the double-digit chair count of my childhood or some of the years during my time as a Wife. Though several others were invited, they've all found holiday homes for the day and... Continue Reading →
