Say It With Me
My Rest Needs No Justification
It’s my final update of 2023. Rather than reflect on goals—both met and unmet—as I close out the year, I want to share this quote from Tricia Hersey’s essential book, Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto.
The habit of justifying my rest is something I’m working hard to unlearn. The tendency to rest with thoughts of what the break will give me the energy to do is something I’m trying to phase out.
As I go offline for the rest of the year (after my Winter Solstice Gratitude Shout Out on 12/21), I’m meditating on what it means to rest because I’m worthy of rest and not because I had a busy year or need to recharge for 2024.
There are times to reflect on the busy year coming to a close. There are times to assess your goals and strategize pivots and new beginnings. But this time time, right now, I’m just focusing on the joy I get from relaxing and the gratitude that swells in my chest when I recognize that I am enough.
As you settle into the fullness of the end of the year, I invite you to share in this affirmation with me. When you say, “Full stop,” really stop and sit in the power of stillness, the beauty of what it means to just be. I love you.
I am worthy of rest. Full stop.
I am worthy of rest. Full stop.
I am worthy of rest. Full stop.
See You in 2024…
Memory can be a tricky thing, and when you're writing memoir, memory can either set your writing on fire or douse it in self-doubt. In this four-week workshop-based class, we'll explore the science of memory, its strengths and weaknesses, the ways it helps us make sense of our lives and the ways it complicates our feelings. We'll use what we learn as an opportunity to retool our memories as writing prompts, setting the foundation to see ourselves as the protagonists of our own lives.
The goal of this class is to bring together the implicit power of memory and the basic elements of storytelling to create strong, deeply moving memoir that tells the story of our personal challenges and triumphs. We will read and discuss selected readings, generate new work, and share reflections and process insight from our writing time together. This interactive weekly workshop features exercises in memory-mining, exploratory free-writing, and reflection-based revision that will bring you that much closer to telling a story that matters: Your story. (REGISTER HERE)
Writing About Trauma and Taboo Topics
An interactive workshop that explores the shadow work and self-care practices that inform writing about trauma and taboo topics. Online with the Orlando Public Library!
Thursday, January 11
7:00pm - 8:00pm
Owning It: Memoir and Memory
Explore how memory both inspires and informs memoir writing while (re)discovering the intersections of creative inquiry and lived experience. Online with the Orlando Public Library!
Saturday, February 17
11: 00 a.m. - Noon
7th Annual Gulfport ReadOUT!
ReadOut: A Festival of LGBTQ Literature is a program of the LGBTQ Resource Center of the Gulfport Library, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in Gulfport, Florida. ReadOut was founded in 2018 and is an inclusive event that showcases literature written by, for, and about LGBTQ community.
