I am hardly the first to note the amazing site The Reconstructionists, but I just love it, so I’ll add my voice to the choir. The site is a “yearlong celebration of women who changed how we see the world,” and pairs portraits of the famous women with their quotations and some biographical information. Amazing.
Christina Rosaline on turning 35, which she recognizes as the someday of life. “This, this is my beautiful, reckless, heartbreaking, perfect life.” I read this beautiful post in tears.
Meeting Priscilla Warner this weekend, which was an enormous treat and complete joy. Priscilla is every bit as warm and wise and funny as I knew she would be. I could have sat and talked to her for hours and hours. If you haven’t read Learning to Breathe yet, you should.
Maya Stein’s visceral, gorgeous poetry. My favorite lines of hers remain these, below, but every single poem stops me in my tracks by making me both think and feel.
“The world spins as it spins.
Your life is on that same axis,
half shadow, half radiance
and turning, always turning.”
Finally, my piece about what I view as an essential question: Is my constant sense of failing to be present getting in the way of my actually being present? is on the Huffington Post this week. If you haven’t seen it, I would welcome your thoughts there!
What are you reading, thinking about, and loving lately?
I read four books last month — unheard of: “Magical Journey;” “Flight Behavior,” Barbara Kingsolver’s newest book; “Dark Places,” Gillian Flynn’s penultimate novel; and “Fault in Our Stars.” I loved them all!
I am taking a food memoir class right now, and am thinking a lot about my mother. One podcast (http://www.judithbarrington.com/interviews/Judith%20Barrington%20Interview.mp3) we listened to with Judith Barrington — which I really think you should check out because she is a poet turned memoirist — says that, while not all stories need to be published, some stories need to be written. If they don’t, they have a way of always popping up, sometimes where they don’t belong. That’s very much how I feel about my mother, so I am thinking of starting work on that (finally…finally…).
Elizabeth, thank you for sharing Judith’s wisdom about stories need to be written. Things with my mom keep popping up…perhaps getting them written will ease that. Lindsey, thanks for sharing what you love. I am thinking about a friendship reunion I will have with my Czech college roommate seven years on the making in England! We will introduce our daughters to one another for the first time. We leave in 30 days…
Yes, The Reconstructionists is amazing. Thanks for pointing me to it.
As usual, I am so grateful for your resources. I just checked out Learning to Breathe. Exquisite.
I am laying low these days with a concussion…so what do I love? How so many have come to support us and care for our family while I am recouping, the gentle ways my husband cares for me, my daughter’s radiant smile, my son’s hugs, being read to by my son, my daughter saying “I love you mommy!” Just really simple things.
Love, Lisa
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