How Comparing Pain Multiplies Suffering
She wanted to talk to me about cancer, but she hesitated. She was worried because she thought her cancer wasn't as bad as mine. When I finally...
A Fresh Start for the New Year: Are You Ready to Turn the Page on 2020?
I am so ready for the new year. I spent much of 2020 hidden away. Like many of you, my days and weeks and months were consumed with coping. At the...
Quote Prompt: “As a writer you should not judge.”
I love using quotes as writing prompts. Whether it's for journal writing, or getting the juices flowing for an essay or other writing, a good quote...
Tips for Regenerating Creativity
Sometimes, my attitude about creativity can really trip me up. I start getting stingy with my ideas, hoarding them with the thought that I will need...
How Not to Say the Wrong Thing When Someone is Grieving – and what to say instead
Why is it so easy to say the wrong thing when someone is grieving? Death is universal. It happens everywhere, and eventually, to everyone. Why are...
When to Start a Journal
Are you waiting for the "perfect time" to get started? When pondering when to start a journal, or starting a new project or habit, I think we tend...
The Case for Ugly Journals
I see the art journals and stunningly gorgeous bullet journal spreads pictured in Instagram and whizzing through my Facebook feed, and I feel pangs...
Journal Prompts: First Week of October
Here's one week's worth of prompts to get you going in your journal. If you're really feeling sassy, you could also ask these prompts of your...
Living with Dying: Thoughts on friendship and cancer
"How do you do it?" Each time I lose a friend to cancer, this question comes up. When Gwen asked this of me after our friend Carrie died, the...