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I tried coming up with some way of communicating the impact and power of the stories in Not Alone. The book has 37 short chapters, each written from the perspective of someone who lives with, or has lived with, depression. But instead of trying to summarize what these folks had to say, I thought I’d share their own words with you.

“I first met Jesus at age four. An average man, he sat in a red chair and watched my grandfather rape me. Jesus looked straight into my eyes, never turning away in shame or disgust, and until I blacked out from pain and suffocation, he spoke into my mind, ‘You’re going to be OK. I’m right here. I’ll not leave you, now or ever.’ Believing him kept me sane” Joy Wilson Continue reading “Depression, Loneliness, and the Power of Stories”

Today’s post is an interview with Jen Luitweiler, author of “Run With Me: An Accidental Runner and the Power of Poo” (links to Jen and her book at the bottom of the page). Read on! Continue reading “Five Questions With Author Jen Luitwieler: On Running and Poo”

Yesterday afternoon Maile and I carried something from the house to the garage that probably would have left spectators rather curious. It’s a bit of a walk between the two buildings, and our feet slipped a little on the stone driveway.

I walked in front, holding it against my back, and since it was kind of a two-person operation, Maile came behind me, also helping to carry it. I had made a wisecrack about this thing just inside the door, but Maile nearly crumbled into tears, so I decided to keep my mouth shut. Continue reading “Tears, Screaming, and 82 Steps to the Garage”

There are days when so many ideas and words fill my head that they begin leaking out of my ears. On those days all I have to do is lay my head sideways on the keyboard, and by the time I look up there is a new short story or essay or blog post. It takes a while to clean the mess from between the keys (think pancake syrup oozed between toddler’s fingers), but it is a beautiful mess.

Then mornings like this one, and my mind is as empty as the public swimming pool in October. Continue reading “When There Are No New Ideas”

Yesterday, when I shared some things that Annie Dillard has on her website home page, I was mainly wondering about the role of social media in the life of an uber-successful author. I found it interesting that she so brazenly stated on her home page all of the things that she does not have time to do.

I did not, however, expect the voracity of responses in the comment thread: Continue reading “Do We Expect Our Favorite Authors to be Nice People?”

One of my favorite books on writing, “The Writing Life,” was written by Annie Dillard. This is what you will find on the home page of her website:

I’m sorry. I’ve never promoted myself or my books, but I used to give two public readings a year.

Now I can no longer travel, can’t meet with strangers, can’t sign books but will sign labels with SASE, can’t write by request, and can’t answer letters. I’ve got to read and concentrate. Why? Beats me. Continue reading “Complete Disengagement From Social Media: A Luxury?”