Sunday Inspiration: Worrying is worthless
“If you are ruminating about the past, or worrying about the future, you will completely miss the experience… The past is finished. Learn from it and let it go. The future is not even here yet. Plan for it, but do not waste your time worrying about it. Worrying is worthless. When you stop ruminating…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Things you live and die for
“My cousin Helen, who is in her 90s now, was in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. She and a bunch of the girls in the ghetto had to do sewing each day. And if you were found with a book, it was an automatic death penalty. She had gotten hold of a copy…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Be joyful!
“To be joyful in the universe is a brave and reckless act. The courage for joy springs not from the certainty of human experience, but the surprise. Our astonishment at being loved, our bold willingness to love in return — these wonders promise the possibility of joyfulness, no matter how often and how harshly love…
Read MoreComing Soon(ish): The House Guests
Coming soon(ish)? Or is that later(ish)? The way we choose to view the timing for the debut of The House Guests, my latest book from Mira, depends on many factors. Until recently June 29th seemed years away to me. After all, time’s been moving slowly this past year, one day fading into the next with…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: A single glorious thing
“In my own worst seasons I’ve come back from the colorless world of despair by forcing myself to look hard, for a long time, at a single glorious thing: a flame of red geranium outside my bedroom window. And then another: my daughter in a yellow dress. And another: the perfect outline of a full,…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Happy Easter!
Easter is a special time to celebrate birth and renewal. Wherever you are, whatever your religious convictions, I hope you enjoy a lovely spring day and the promise of joy and beauty in the months ahead.
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Beware of destination addiction!
Beware of destination addiction, a preoccupation with the idea that happiness is in the next place, the next job, and with the next partner. Until you give up the idea that happiness is somewhere else, it will never be where you are.–Robert Holden It’s so easy to fall prey to “destination addiction,” isn’t it? Especially…
Read MoreThat Was The Year That Was–And Is
I can’t seem to write 2021. Every time I’m asked for a date, I find myself thinking this is 2012. I always catch myself, but this anomaly doesn’t really surprise me. I’m sure it’s not as much a desire to time travel back nine years as it is to pretend this past year didn’t happen.…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: The beauty of the earth
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature— the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” -Rachel Carson, author and naturalist I offer these inspiring words in honor of…
Read MoreWhat Do We Love About the Irish?
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY! The day has arrived for dyeing beer and rivers green, singing Danny Boy and enjoying ice cold Guinness in a frosted glass–which is not how it’s served in Ireland, BTW. Like many of you, I have Irish DNA, at least one-quarter. My maternal grandfather was born in the U.S. to Irish…
Read More