Recently, a friend asked me why I wasn't climbing higher. I probably gave him a sarcastic look before responding, “Because I don't trust these damn devices!” I'm talking about auto-belays, those contraptions that are supposed to lower you safely from a climbing wall. I've actually climbed all the way back down a wall rather than trust one to lower me. Fuggedaboudit. I was pretty active in my early, spry young adult years. These days, middle-aged me comes home from the gym just happy I didn't...

In. Two letters. Such a nothing word with so much significance. I recently came across a writing prompt by author Ed Park called This Is How Memory Works. Park describes a time when he felt depleted creatively, professionally, and personally. After writing two ambitious novels that hadn't found publishers, he wondered whether he had any words left. Turns out he had one: In. He began collecting fragments of memories, observations, and everyday moments, each beginning with that word. He didn't...

Hi friends, I have a little book news to share! On Monday, November 9 at 7 PM, I'll be at Varina Area Library for a Community Authors Showcase featuring my book, Writing Through Grief and Loss: An IFS Journal for Healing. I'll be sharing a little about why I wrote the book, followed by a Q&A, book signing, and some time to mingle. Writing a book is one thing. Getting out from behind the keyboard and talking about it with actual human beings? That's another adventure entirely! I'd love to see...