Blog
It’s easy, apparently, to decide not to die.
It was a summer of firsts. My first summer away from home. My first job that I found on my own. I worked with artists, lived in New York City, and most of all I learned how to live forever.
How we allow the stories we tell to define us
Three years after the ten year anniversary of 9/11, and what has changed?
I found this piece I wrote on the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Those horrible days changed my life, because it taught me a lesson I don’t know I would have otherwise learned.
If only these giant fleshy beasts could speak
One Sunday, we visited Santa Rosa de Tastil in northwest Argentina. It’s a town of one hundred people that sprouted from the oasis just below the ancient settlement of Tastil. I didn’t plan to write about it, but something about the place got me.
I wanted to somehow capture it. I wanted to show how dry land and fallen cacti can tell such a vibrant story.
In between the moving parts, we write
“How do you do it all,” a friend asked me. “It’s easy,” I told her. “I just lowered my standards.” I don’t expect perfection anymore. Instead, I banish the little guilts we feel and enjoy where I am before moving on to something else.
42 Reasons to be Grateful in my 42nd year
As a celebration of life for another year, a rejoicing in all the good in my life, here I list 42 of the things for which I am most grateful.
This list began when I was pregnant, uncomfortable and overwhelmed. Thus, I wrote in my journal simply listing as many pieces of my life that make me happy and full of love.
It’s amazing what you can learn about your own life in just ten minutes of writing.
Sunrise Over Salta: Life and writing are in the details
I began taking these sunrise photos to remind myself that even in a small space, with very little change of place or time, life offers a spectacular range of vision, beauty and variation.
If you remember this well, you can find endless variation for the vision of your writing which in turn guides the vision of your life.
Want to see what I saw from my balcony every morning for the last two years? Check out this photo essay.
A portrait on the eve of Lila’s tenth birthday
Impossible to believe it’s been five years since we moved to Salta. Even more impossible to believe how much Lila has grown and changed. Now, we’re on the cusp of a new baby joining our home. If you’ve spent any time on this website, I’m sure you’ve read about it.
Happy birthday, Lila! I can’t wait to see what the next five years bring.
Unravel the writing process to stop writer’s block
My writing process has developed over time. It is this very process that keeps me from ever experiencing writer’s block. How? Two key elements.
In this post, I’ll also let you know why I write and the two main projects I have happening now. I’d love some of your input to help with one of them.
A Little Strip of Coast Under Coconut Sky
There’s a little road that traces the edge of the sea along Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. It’s mostly unpaved, lots of potholes and makes for an extremely slow uncomfortable journey.
Go anyway. It’s more than worth it.
The rough and tumble bus ride brought me to this little piece of heaven. It inspired me and freed me. I can’t wait to go back.
Maybe you’ll even come with me one day soon.
How telling your story empowers you! Plus, I’ll tell you mine.
Each of us has a personal story that we tell and retell, not only to let others know who we are but to remind ourselves of our own value.
Our stories tell us where we’ve been which in turn guides us toward the future. I tell mine here! Now, will you share yours with me?