On feathers and healing — The Crane Wife is a Japanese folk tale. The version I know is that a man finds an injured crane at his doorstep and nurses it back to health. After it flies away, a woman shows up and the two fall in love and marry. In order to make ends…

Writing in Trying Times — Tell me if this sounds familiar: I need to engage in a hobby or creative endeavor in order to feel healthy, but I’m having a hard time finding the energy or focus to do that right now. I’m hearing this from a lot of creatives and I’m absolutely saying it…

How I learned empathy the hard way — I used to be kind of a shitty person. Back in college and in my early twenties, I failed to deal with a lot of internalized misogyny, ableism, classism, and some inadvertent racism that came from a very white, very upper-middle-class suburban upbringing just riddled with privilege. I didn’t see anything wrong with my low-key callousness. I was, in…

It’s okay to not be okay — Maybe I’m not okay right now, Susan. Maybe the world is too much. Maybe my productivity is suffering (and it has nothing to do with remote work, but everything to do with the state of the world right now). Maybe staying at home is bad for my mental health. …

In defense of Guy Fieri — In a world gone mad, I find most of us are craving familiarity and comfort. For me, part of that is an ongoing marathon of Guy Fieri shows, often accompanied by a hearty cheeseburger. …

It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. — I rescue parrots. It’s not my job, but it’s my passion. Working with an mid-Atlantic organization called Phoenix Landing, I act as a foster or adoptive pet caretaker for birds who need a second (or third or fourth or fifth) home. It’s hard work. The animals come to you with…

How a slow-paced game can soothe a fast-paced life — Go and live your best island life. If quarantine has done any good for us at all, it would be that it’s provided some folks with an opportunity to engage in revitalizing hobbies: bread baking, gardening, house repair, arts and crafts, cooking, just to name a few. …

The wisdom of doing nothing — Hi, it’s me, your neighborhood annoying productivity cheerleader. I’ve learned something in the last few weeks — it’s okay not to push yourself to achieve something every single day. Is “write every day” good advice? Of course! Is it realistic? Well, that depends. Should you punish yourself for not being…

How to fight a one-two punch right now — On a good day, I struggle with depression. Maybe a little less; perhaps it’s more annoying those days and less utterly disruptive. But it’s there, all the same. Now, add in a global pandemic and orders restricting my ability to go out and socialize with my lifeline friends and places…