When I begin to make lists again I know I've returned, at least in part, to my previous life. During her nap, the baby sleeps in a wind tunnel of fabricated white noise; she swings in the darkened bedroom above a humidifier. She is wrapped in blankets, snuggled and steadied. I am in the next … Continue reading The World You Long For
Writing Life
How to Write a Book
Image by Dariusz Sankowski The first thing you should do is have a baby (or get a puppy). You need some sort of really obvious distraction so as not to realize it's actually just you procrastinating all those days, hours, minutes. A baby offers ample distraction 24/7 so that when you get to your desk … Continue reading How to Write a Book
Write With Me
In the new year we reflect on our goals. It's a time when we consider what we might set in motion, complete, or resurrect as writers. It's time when I am reminded of a simple word that feels all-powerful: begin. Now is the time to hone your practice and find your seat at the table, … Continue reading Write With Me
October
I've been working on getting "The Essay Exhibits" ready to hang at the Orwell Free Library and I think all the pieces will finally be up later today. On Wednesday, October 16th at 7PM I will be reading from Made Holy, answering questions about the book, and signing and selling books! I hope you can … Continue reading October
Book Launch This Friday 6PM
For those of you who live in the Burlington area, I hope you will join me THIS FRIDAY EVENING from 6PM - 8PM at BCA (the Firehouse Gallery) upstairs for a reading, book signing, and celebration of Made Holy. Dear Friends, The best part about publishing this book is that so many of my friends … Continue reading Book Launch This Friday 6PM
Join Me for a Facebook Live Event Tonight
Join the conversation on why I wrote Made Holy!
Mid-Summer Daydreams
Mid-summer and I am dreaming of bees. My husband, dream midwife, has given me seven days to ride a horse in my dreams, but I sleep late and wake and forget as my youngest nudges me up, Come, play. In the field adjacent to the house, a hidden stream between us, my husband and oldest … Continue reading Mid-Summer Daydreams
Summer Writing Practice
Leaf Summer arrives in the North like a dream. Exuberant, joyous, freeing. One thing I love about my summer is watching my sons run wild. Bedtime is extended, the outdoors becomes a roving playground, and I see their swift transformation into wilder versions of themselves. They find a freedom in the unscheduled hours we occupy. … Continue reading Summer Writing Practice
See you at AWP in Portland
It's that time of year. Time for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference and this year it's in Portland, Oregon. Come see me talk about writing and find out what the game Neon Daycare, which I played with my sisters and cousins as a young girl, has to do with writing. Saturday 1:30 … Continue reading See you at AWP in Portland
On Melancholia & Living Our Best Lives
Failure is relative. You decide. Yet our sense of not being enough (doing, having enough) is a powerful part of our conditioning as human beings. We are locked into this conditioning and unless we see it for what it is we can't get free. Even when we intellectually understand it, there are powerful triggers in our lives that catch us up again and again. But if we practice noticing and choosing different thoughts, we can overcome this.
Emily Arnason Casey 