There is truly nothing more fulfilling to a writer than knowing your book found a reader who connects with it as something longed-for. And this week I learned that it’s even more exhilarating if the reader pulls out a quote from the book that describes the motivation for writing it. On Instagram, the writer Leah De Forest did just that! . . .
I’ll be appearing remotely this Friday, October 18, as part of Narrative Healing’s in-person “Listen to Your Ancestors” weekend retreat at the beloved Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, led by Lisa Weinert, with Jamia Wilson, Lewis Mehl-Madrona, and Kim Thai. I’ll be teaching on writing about ancestors as a transformative and even sacred practice.
The first subject of my new Art & Kinship series is Emily Raboteau, whose work I’ve been reading with admiration for almost two decades. Her new book—Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against “The Apocalypse”—is out today. In my latest newsletter, some thoughts on her work broadly and this book in particular, along with photos of Emily and her ancestor wall, and her reflections on creating this memorial to them after the passing of her dad as she wrote.
My latest newsletter is about my upcoming class in Miami and much more, including some of what I’m reading and thinking about these days.