And So, It Begins

I’ve been “writing a book” since I started a blog in 2005. Eighteen years since then, and a lot of life has happened. I know now what I didn’t know then: I hadn’t yet lived what I needed to write. 

Still, many of the life lessons I write about in the book are hard earned, and while grief and pain are some of life’s best teachers, they are also the worst hangers-on. So as I am approaching the October 3, 2023 release of “Beautiful and Terrible Things,” the feelings I’m carrying around are…complicated.

So it seemed best to begin this roller coaster ride with friends, specifically my friends at Circular Church in Charleston, South Carolina. They gathered in that beautiful sanctuary and gave my words a soft place to land.  They asked such good, insightful questions: Do you really think we can find our way back to each other? What was the writing process like? Did you ever lose your faith?

Yes.

Way worse than childbirth.

A few times, at least.

Beginning in October I’ll be wandering up and down the East Coast, invited to share parts of my story in many different places.  I know the complicated feelings will tag along, too. My plan is to share a few thoughts after each experience, so watch this space. And if you think it’s important to tell our stories and that in their telling we can sometimes–sometimes–find our way back to one another, I hope you’ll join me along the way.

Coming October 3, 2023