Welcome to Fall 2020 – where it seems both imperative and often impossible to find our voices amid this catastrophic time. But voices do matter – and I am grateful that on this 6th anniversary of the publication of my memoir, I recently spoke my story into a new kind of life: The Coconut Latitudes […]
Fall/Winter News 2016
Fall is upon us, that bittersweet season where the earth takes a breather, goes fallow, and directs us to look inwards. It invites us to express gratitude for all we have been given. This year I am especially thankful for an unexpected family connection and visit – a gift I’ll cherish forever. On the literary […]
Solstice and new beginnings
Solstice. A perfect metaphor for our dual selves, darkness and light. Celebrated since ancient times, it’s the occasion when the sun appears to stand still just for a moment before an inevitable seasonal change begins. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the longest day – a time to fling oneself outside, to inhabit the long […]
Summer Reflections
It’s already summer; how did that happen? This particular June solstice brings with it a desire to reflect upon the head-spinning events of the past few months. Dictionaries define the term reflection variously. Interestingly, the root is from the Latin reflexiōn – a “bending back”, which seems fitting as I look backwards. Another […]
New Year – New Beginnings, Old Connections
In this new year, as The Coconut Latitudes branches out into the world, it continues to bring some unexpected gifts and connections. The latest arrived yesterday, when, out-of-the-blue, a message arrived from a pen pal who I corresponded with more than fifty years ago. The first gift was the arrival of photographs I’d […]
Gratitude and Surrender
As leaves fall and pad California hiking trails with soft blankets of ocher and crimson, we whisper prayers for rain, but know bare branches are also necessary for rebirth and growth. Walking on one of these mountain trails last week, I recalled words by Mark Matousek in a recent memoir writing workshop: “Growth demands a […]