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One day, I wandered into the forest and never came back.
Wasn’t going to do a print edition of this, but there’s just something about physical books, isn’t it?
My husband is always my first reader.
Sometimes he’s very nice.
Other times, he’s brutal.
“Why is he a banker?”
“Why are they fighting? Need
"I have searched for my mother’s love in all corners of the world." -Annie Ernaux
Sometimes, healing never comes. Some mothers never apologise.
But sometimes healing begins after thirty years.
Sometimes, a mother says, “I’m sorry.”
I stepped way out of my comfort zone last night and went to an open mic event at my local library, even though I’m a true hermit and have horrendous stage fright. I wouldn’t even let my husband come watch.
I figured, local library, probably small audience, start with low stakes.
And you know what?
It was worth it.
I
(husband walking in to me watching a horror movie)
(husband walking in to me watching a horror movie)
Me: I’m having a shit day.
Husband: So you’re
My son’s favourite trees were pines, because they flourish even in winter, made more beautiful even, with snow laden on their thin branches.
Why Some Writers Carry Tasers and Pay to be Unfindable
I’ve intended to write on this topic for some time now—the risk of having a public online presence, that is. It’s one many of us are sadly all too familiar with: strangers acting in bad faith, taking your words out of context,
Corruption and Redemption
Guest post by Jenn Zuko
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Back in 2004, I taught a graduate-level literature course called ‘Hobbits and
Éowyn's Redemption from Despair to Hope
I’m also struck by the fact that once again, heroism in Tolkien’s story does not present the way it conventionally would in such stories, or in the way Éowyn understood heroism at the start of her journey.
She learns that it does not have to take her skill with a sword to make her a strong woman.
Ways I Am Simplifying My Life in 2025
Dear Inklings,
I cannot believe we are now at the end of 2024. Last year, I shared the ways I
I Followed Jesus But My Life Didn't Get Better
My questions of why injustice and suffering exist have never been answered. Yet I found what I was looking for all along: God Himself.
It Wasn’t Love At First Sight
The common narrative is that when you give birth, you fall in love with your baby at once.
In reality, this is a stranger you have to get to know, just like any other person. Sometimes, it’s love at first sight. Other times, it’s not.
Samwise Gamgee: The Heart of the Fellowship
Sam’s decisions in these five chapters cement both his character and his strength, both of which draw on his strongest attribute (and why I—and I suspect so many of us—adore him so much). His heart.
Only That Which They Defend
And yet, in The Lord of the Rings, Sam and Faramir end up having tremendous influence over the outcome of the story. Not because they are powerful, but because of those very attributes the world deemed unworthy.
Seeing Stones and Silver Tongues
Whether through magical devices or human speech, the challenge of conveying and receiving truth remains central to these chapters. This illustrates the difficulties of communication, not between different languages, but between what comes out and what is received.
Valuing the Least of These
Through these chapters, Tolkien illustrates that one of the highest goods—a light by which to choose in dark times—is caring for those who seem weakest among us, carrying them along in their journey.