Hiding in Plain Sight ~ the ubiquitous ‘need to know’

“Family patters—like family secrets—repeat themselves.” ~ Iyanla Vanzant There has been a rash of books lately on the topic of family secrets. Why? Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m sure part of it has to do with the fact that children weren’t included in a lot of family news when I was… Continue Reading

Burdens of Privilege

Burdens of Privilege

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” —Plutarch It was over a decade ago that I sat in my first writers’ workshop at the Stonybrook Writers’ Conference. The almost round tables were configured to promote emotional connectivity and support, all good things when one’s writing is being… Continue Reading

Women of Ingenuity

Women of Ingenuity

“My failures have been errors in judgment, not of intent.” Ulysses S. Grant In true one-thing-leads-to-another fashion, an interview online recently with Drew Gilpin Faust about her memoir Necessary Trouble, led me to another book she’d written, Mothers of Invention. Having grown up in the South herself, Faust has a unique perspective on the idiosyncrasies… Continue Reading

The Artist’s Prerogative

The Artist’s Prerogative

“…and writing is, in the end, that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger.”~ Pico Iyer We’ve heard an enormous amount recently about the pandemic of loneliness sweeping much of the world today. For the most part, the reasons for it seem to stem from the breakdown of community, and therefor human connections.… Continue Reading