It’s been a minute, sorry about that. July and August sent a giant wave of LIFE STUFF at me and I’m still crawling out from under.
Here are some things I’ve read recently that I think you might find useful, interesting, or helpful:
Essay: Some Of Us Did Not Die by Mona Eltahawy, writing about what survivors can do with all the pandemic grief. “Those of us who did not die must prepare to take our individual grief out into the world, find our place in communal mourning and nurturing & whisper to each other’s hearts “We know you’re strong. Look at what you survived. You can be soft here, we’ve got you.”
We Are The Solid by Cheryl Strayed alias Dear Sugar, writing about estrangement.. “Whatever you do, remember that the most powerful thing you learned in the enormous effort it took to shut that door between you and your mother is that there is no door. The door is a metaphor we use so we can pretend there’s something solid to crouch behind. But there isn’t. We are the solid. The door, dear Daughter, is you and me and all the people reading this who relate to these words. It’s built by our strength and our courage; our wisdom and resolve; our suffering and our triumph. The people who harmed us can only come inside if and when we allow them to.”
Summer Brennan’s Essay Camp, 5 days of writing prompts and practice, starting here. The real-time communal experience has passed, but the prompts and lessons live on.
Friends Write Books:
Borrowing Your Body, Laura Passin’s debut poetry collection is out! As is Heather Corinna’s excellent, inclusive guide to menopause, What Fresh Hell Is This: Menopause, Perimenopause, Other Indignities, And You.
You’ll have to wait until October 12 for S. Bear Bergman’s graphic advice collection, Special Topics In Being A Human. I’ve read an advance copy and it’s just as lovely as he is.
Hopefully some or all of these (and the archives) will tide you over a little bit longer.
CaptainAwkward.com 