For the Mommas Who Lost A Child
“Hi,” the 11-year-old kid said, interrupting my morning walk with a one-syllable sledgehammer. It was just a nicety during a jog with his mom. I don’t think his voice had changed yet. He needed a haircut. I know he’s 11 because the summer his mom and I were 40-year-old swim team moms, our jokes about
Grabbing the Running Line
• Day S E V E N • Harvester Island Writers Workshop Friday, Sept. 9, 2022 Today’s post is a retrospective within a retrospective. Confusing I know. Stay with me. In the chronology of writing camp, we’re at Friday 9-9, the last full day. Tonight we’ll feast on Dungeness crab and the reading of each other’s stories.
Clapping Back Against a Virus She Didn’t Earn
• Day S I X • Harvester Island Writers Workshop Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022 Today it’s my joy to tell the story of my new friend Dorah Dunigan. She embodies my favorite things: a deep love for Jesus, an overcoming spirit, joy against the odds, and a quick, good-natured wit that she calls “clapping back.” On Thursday,
Enter, the Cranky Editor and the Rain
• Day F I V E • Harvester Island Writers Workshop Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022 Back in Alaska, we’re deep into the guts of writing scene. “We sent the editor away yesterday, but today we’re going to bring her back. We need the editor, even if she’s cranky,” Leslie says. For me, the editor is always cranky.
The Day God Opened His Zoo
• Day F O U R • Harvester Island Writers Workshop Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 Some days just gob smack you. You know that another day could never be like it, even if it tried. At the end of the thing, you exhale hard and thank God for making you feel alive again. Today is that day.
God Smiling, Hands on the Curtain
• Day T H R E E • Harvester Island Writers Workshop Monday, Sept. 5, 2022 I believe when something amazing is around the corner, God anticipates. Ready to pull back the curtain. Ready to show us that Jeremiah 29:11 has been true all along and He can’t wait to open up His big, wild world to