The Nun’s Story by Kathryn C. Hulme, copyright 1956, was a Book of the Month Club selection that reached #1 on the New York Times best-seller list. My friend’s dad, who was our mailman, tucked it in our mailbox addressed to my great-grandmother. I read her books–maybe not when I was 7, but a little […]
First Words Friday: Week 9 – 2019 – Anna Karenina
I was scrolling through my Kindle (which I hardly every look at) this morning and found I had downloaded a copy of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. It’s been years–and years and years and years–since I read it. These words reminded me of why I downloaded it to begin with. Because seriously, how can one not […]
First Words Friday: Week 8 – 2019 – The Velveteen Rabbit
For the month of love, here are some first words from a not-for-children-only classic, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. This is a longer selection (okay it’s super long), but it’s okay as the book is in the public domain. When she was 19 years old, Williams decided she wanted to make a living at […]
First Words Friday: Week 7 – 2019 – A Wrinkle in Time
I’m taking another workshop through Tweetspeak Poetry called Writing Toward Joy and led by the incomparable Megan Willome. We are working our way through Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time by making florilegia–bouquets of sparkling text that we create out of sentences that jump out at us. We then try to see what new connections […]
First Words Friday: Week 6 – 2019 – Literary America
I bought this book–A Journey Through Literary America–as a gift to myself directly from the website, on sale and autographed. But it’s also available on Amazon. It’s “a literary pilgrimage in photography and prose.” Thomas Hummel (writer) and Tamra Dempsey (photographer) set out to find the stories and explore the places that inspired 26 of […]
First Words Friday: Week 5 – 2019 – Braiding Sweetgrass
I’m all about nature writing, especially when the words are woven as beautifully as they are in this book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Okay, so the last part of that title sounds… well, boring. Trust me, it’s not. Elizabeth Gilbert calls the book, “A […]
First Words Friday – Week 2 – 2019
Last week I shared some first words from A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett, a book on my to-read list. This week I’m sharing from one of my favorite books, one I’ve read and reread and occasionally slice through–An American Childhood by Annie Dillard. My word, that woman can write. From […]
First Words Friday: Week 1 – 2019
I just discovered a Twitter hashtag. I don’t know how long #FirstLineFriday has been around, but I think I’ve been missing out. In keeping with my new resolution goal plan to write here on a more regular basis, I’ve decided to add a category to the list of categories I’ve up until now not been […]
when we work without love
We were back in the supply room, gathering trays and sterile equipment for our cases. She was griping about something. I don’t remember what. But as we hurried down the hall with arms full, she shook her head and sighed. “Why are you always so happy?” I just shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s […]
finally booked: john donne, a wheelbarrow, wonder, and a lasting love
Which of you, if your grandgirl asks for a book, will give her a Brussels sprout? Even one dipped in chocolate? Or if she begs to download the ScriptureTyper app for $5.99 on her iPod so she can try to memorize words from the Word, will you give her a broom and tell her to […]
