Becoming the Person You’re Meant to Be – I love this round-up of quotes (all by women) on Cup of Jo. I love what Dani Shapiro has to say about practice, Stevie Nick’s observation on the primacy of grace, and Patti’s Smith’s reminder that it’s good to be alive. (thanks to Amanda Magee for drawing my attention to this list).
The Gift of Presence – This piece, by Parker Palmer, asserts (far more beautifully) something I’ve been saying for a while: sometimes the truest manifestation of friendship and love is simply abiding. Staying near someone. Offering our presence, and our attention, and our love. Not our advice or our attempts to fix (as well-intentioned as those usually are).
To Insist That Sorrow Not Be Meaningless – I read and love everything Dani Shapiro writes, but this piece struck a particular nerve. Maybe it’s because right now feels like a somewhat sorrowful time. Maybe it’s because I’m keenly attuned, right now, to meaning in all its forms. Maybe it’s because it’s gorgeously written. No matter. Read this. Twice.
I’m coming to the end of a relentless Linda Fairstein binge (I really can’t get enough of the Alexandra Cooper series – for example – Death Dance: A Novel (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries – it hits the precise same part of my brain that loves Law & Order SVU). I’m reading Peggy Orenstein’s bracingly-named (and -written, frankly – scary, and powerful!) Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape
What are you reading, thinking about, and loving lately?
I write these Things I Love posts approximately monthly. You can find them all here.
Love the quotes on Cup of Jo. Thank-you, I’d somehow missed that post. So many good ones!
I love these updates! Thanks for continuing to publish it. (On a related note, when is your next installment of How She Does It?)
As for me, lately I’m loving short fiction. I’m currently reading Alice Munro’s “Hateship, Friendship…” collection and I love the simplicity of her stories. I’m also loving Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” which is a fun departure from literary fiction.
Outside of the written word, I’m loving my ramekin of blackberries with breakfast every morning, which are so sweet and juicy right now. And I’m loving the Royal Trust’s Instagram account which is publishing 90 days (in honor of her 90th b-day) of photographs of various gowns the Queen has worn during her reign.
I am so glad that I pointed you in the direction of something wonderful for once, seems it’s always you guiding me. Cannot wait to read Orenstein’s book!
Loved The Nest and just started The Year of Yes.
So many good links! I need to leave this tab open!
I was lucky enough to hear Dani Shapiro deliver her talk at Calvin College. It was one of my favorite moments of the festival! I was also lucky enough to be standing two feet from her and Tobias Wolff as they waited for their ride to dinner!! But I was way too chicken to talk to them!!