There are no certainties in life, in pregnancy, in parenting, or in advice columns, dear Mama-To-Be. There’s seldom a way to know which direction, which choice, which yes or which no will be the right one, but there’s always a way to do the best you can with generosity and loving kindness. And more than anything, that’s what I hope you and your par... See more
Her kindness and candor. Her curiosity and intellectual courage. Her willingness to explore and contemplate the layers of things rather than reaching for easy judgment
I liked mattering. I can live with less money and with “regular” cars and without a job title ... it’s very possible to live a very nice life without those things. But mattering ... yeah, I miss that. I want to figure out how to matter again1. Let’s put a pin in that one, consider it a work in progress.
We often confuse hope with optimism—the idea that everything will be okay—but optimism and defeatism hold the same space. Both outlooks, Rebecca says, “are a form of confidence in that you know what is going to happen and therefore nothing is required of you.”
I’ve been teaching creative writing for many years. And teaching writing is a weird thing, because it’s not just about helping students master a subject. It’s really about helping them discover what stories they’re meant to tell, how best to tell those stories, and how to overcome the inhibitions that inevitably arise when we seize the mantle of na... See more