My Writing
I've Got Some Feelings...and a Giveaway
The Beatles rooftop concert A few weekends ago, we hosted a rock band for our town’s Porchfest. People occasionally request songs at these. The one I tossed out was “I've Got a Feeling” by the Beatles. Everybody had a hard year Everybody had a good time Everybody had a wet dream Everybody…
Between the Dark and Light
I call it “the day”. It occurs without warning every year, sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sadness gut-punches me. It’s usually brought on by a sound, a smell, or a memory of my father who died thirty-eight years ago at the beginning of the holidays. The sorrow starts in my…
How to Dream in 2022
Sandra A. Miller starts writing a novel in Tokyo, 1988 In 1988, one month before my 24th birthday, I eagerly headed off to Japan to teach English at a Tokyo University. As is the case with many expatriates, my journey was less about working as a teacher (I had zero training), and more about…
20 Reasons to Love 2020
I don’t think anyone will struggle to find reasons to put this year behind us. But this isn’t that list. This is the list of silver linings and small moments. And seeing the glass half-full. Yes, 2020 has served up unimaginable loss and pain, but when you look closely at these past months,…
Seven Jewels in Search of a Treasure
Bejeweled bracelet prize in the Trove Armchair Treasure Hunt. photo by Holloway McCandless When I decided to have my alchemist jeweler, Winnie, design a one-of-a-kind sterling cuff bracelet as the prize in the Trove Armchair Treasure Hunt, I knew each jewel I chose from my personal trove had to be…
Some Love for the Bald Women Going Through Hell
Sisters share a pretzel and some love When I saw the subject line “Haircut” my lips and eyes did that thing when they tighten to try and keep the feelings from just pouring out. I clicked on the email from my one-year-older sister Betsy, and it was all over. Feelings everywhere. One and a half…
Star Stung: Lessons Learned from a Night with Sting
Hanging with Sting circa 2005 at the Hiro Ballroom “Congratulations. You’re one of our winners,” the young woman coolly announced in a call that I had almost ignored from the comfort of my couch cocoon. “We'll be in touch with details before the red carpet premiere in New York City,” she said, “but…
What To Do When You Can't Power Through
shell on sand “It’s supposed to be in the nineties today,” Mark warns, as he shoots off to work, leaving me alone at my desk with my fear of sweating to death and, worse, a blank screen. It’s already mid-July, or should I say it’s only mid-July, in that messy middle of summer, when I can’t yet…
Write Like You’re Giving Birth
“Write from your guts,” I told my creative nonfiction students on the last day of class. “Don’t ignore the pain. Don’t act like it isn’t there and try tiptoeing around it. You have to write your way through your own dark woods.” I recalled the excruciating experience of back labor when giving birth…