Spirituality
A Subtle But Important Distinction
A man I respect immensely — kind, caring, smart, funny and filled with the sort of humility that’s truly inspiring — told me a story yesterday that I want to share with you. It’s not really his story any more than it’s mine, but it is the sort of story that holds such wonderful wisdom…
Read MoreThe Life That Is Waiting For Us (might just be here)
E.M. Forster wrote, “We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” Change is inevitable, and the wisest words in all the world are these, this, too, shall pass. For better for for worse, nothing lasts. We live in a…
Read MoreWhat You Were Meant For…
Perhaps it’s not surprising, given the state of literature these days, but I’m often asked why I write, you know, in that sort of, Why bother? What are you, a masochist? sort of way. Well, the easy answer is that I can’t seem to stop, and speaks of a certain mental compulsion, perhaps neurosis. I’m…
Read MoreHeresy of the Table
It was a few years ago, when I was still regularly going to church. I attended a Sunday forum led by a priest I’ll call Father Robert (not his name, of course, not even close). A fire-plug of a man, who might have made a good boxer, he sat at the head of the table,…
Read MoreSo Ends The Silence
A month ago I posted that I was going to be off social media for a month, and so I was. It was WONDERFUL. And yes, it took a little getting used to at first. One of the reasons I wanted to wean myself off it was that I found myself far too inclined towards…
Read MoreMy Month Of Social Media Silence.
Back in 1995, when My Best Beloved and I were living in France, we bought our first at-home computer, and hooked up email. I still remember the ambivalence I felt. It’s just another way for someone to get into my house, I said. You have to understand, I’m the woman who once answered the question, What…
Read MoreDeath and the next room . . .
Just as I sat here, thinking I should write a blog. . . but about what, about what. . . my phone rang. It was H., my friend and Jungian therapist, telling me she’s sorry she’d been out of touch the past couple of weeks, but her husband, who has been suffering terribly from dementia…
Read MoreThings we have left undone . . .
I just came back from a terrific weekend teaching at the International Women’s Writing Guild 2013 Conference, held at Drew University. The women I met were wonderful, and dedicated to writing. So that was good — as were the classes and the writing and the discoveries we made in our work and the new friendships…
Read MoreA Great Day At The Prison
Some days are just wonderful. It’s My Best Beloved’s birthday, and it’s Bailey’s birthday (our dog, known asThe Rescuepoo), and the hot-off-the-presses copy of my new novel arrived in the mail, which just makes me giddy with grinning . . . . but. . . the most wonderful thing about today happened in a prison.…
Read MoreWe Know Not What . . .
Sometimes people ask me why I write. This is a good question, and one I’ll probably spend my life trying to answer. I usually say it’s because when I’m writing I feel as though I’m doing what I am intended to do. I say I write because I’m saner when I do than when I…
Read More