I vividly remember eating everything off the Taco Bell dollar menu in the car with my best friend, standing through the sunroof, screaming Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be” into the sky, wind whipping my hair as I used a burrito as a microphone. A KFC drumstick worked well, too.

And you should, too…

While some may view that as privilege (I do, too, for what it’s worth), I hope you’ll stick with me long enough to hear why I still say this.

For better or worse, I’m an all-in kind of person. Always have been… Here’s the myth I didn’t realize I was carrying, though, until my physical health demanded I set it down: that being a real writer meant being relentless.

As I’ve limped and rested and brain-fogged my way toward some new version of normal again, I keep coming back to a single image. One that’s followed me through more than one collapse in my life.

The Tower.

We’re only a few days into the new year, and we’ve awoken this week to yet more news of chaos in the world. So, I’m scrapping my planned post in favor of sharing a short missive on the central theme of my life at the moment. I am becoming water.

As a writer, I get to explore the human experience in so many ways. It had been a while since I’d taken an Enneagram assessment, so I thought that’d be a fun thing to do again. I was right.

What stories have you told yourself about who you are? What stories have others believed? What’s the truest story you can tell about yourself today? I’ve got lots of thoughts.

The common thread in writer’s block advice is hustle, pushing through… For disabled writers, people experiencing burnout, or those living with chronic illness or navigating grief, I think this advice can actually be harmful.

She’s in every single person she touched, and with 94 years on this planet, she touched many. I’m so thankful for the time we had, even if it never would have been enough. And I’m so thankful she can rest now.

COVID hit our house hard earlier this month, and after nearly 3 weeks of acute symptoms, I’m finally coming out of it. As it’s literally the last day of September, it feels like I lost a month, but such is life.

When are some times you’ve been the most self-connected? What were you doing? Where were you? How did it feel ?

Even when it’s inevitable, death hurts. Initial thoughts about putting my grandma on hospice.

It’s my 40th birthday! Grab a drink, your favorite snack, and a cozy blanket while I get all introspective about life, writing, past mistakes, and the many lives I’ve lived.

I may have a Taurus-heavy chart, but patience has never been one of my strongest personal qualities. Hard-working, persistent, reliable? Sure. But patient? Absolutely not.

I’m very much a “manage my expectations” kind of person, but I’m finding myself wanting to let go of it in this instance.

My choice to write characters with disabilities is a personal statement in many ways, that our voices matter. But it is also quite simple: I believe all kinds of people, with all kinds of stories, should be able to see themselves in literature and other media.

I’ve benefitted so much from others in the publishing industry—whether authors, agents, or editors—who have shared their experiences and expertise. I’m no expert, but I want to pay it forward by being transparent about my own process.