In December 2019, I pulled my car away from the little yellow house with intermittent heat on a wide street in Missoula, Montana. Joe and I had been living there for a semester while I taught at the University of Montana’s School of Journalism. It was both very difficult and very easy for me to leave. The easy part? I don’t like snow, and I didn’t have heat. The hard part: I never expected to come to Montana and feel like I found a piece of my heart there — a part I hadn’t even known I’d lost. I forged amazing friendships and found new journalist colleagues amongst the faculty. I was inspired by my young students — so eager to please, so wide-eyed about the profession, but also so committed to learning it at a time when it seemed crazy to become a journalist. I watched lazy deer grazing in my yard in the morning, and hiked trails within five minutes of my front door.
Another compelling and fascinating read from top to bottom. I think I left this in a previous comment, but both you and Sharma ARE the 'light' in your stories because by writing about them you bring these uncomfortable truths 'to light' (whether factual / physical truths through journalism or emotional truths through fiction). It takes a very strong heart to write about things that most people find uncomfortable - so uncomfortable, in fact, that some would rather believe 'crisis actors' have been hired than that a horrific event really happened. I admire that both of you are neither the highway accident gawkers or the people who hide their faces and rush away when you encounter a dark and difficult subject, but instead reach out your hand and say, 'let me tell your story.' On some level it must offer a kind of comfort to those who face their darkest nights alone, that at some point it might come to light in a way that helps them feel seen through a loving and compassionate lens.
I write about Spirituality which I find - mostly - to be an uplifting and life-enriching experience, but there is much darkness in spirituality too. In my book about the Spiritual Path I write that the number one risk of spiritual work is delusion. I feel like this too often goes unsaid... (unless in a book that's critical of spirituality). Dark things can happen to anyone - and often we are at our most vulnerable when we think we're at our least. We ignore the dark side of life, spirituality, and everything at our peril.
Also - I just ordered your book and I am SO excited for it. I've been thinking for so long you should write a book - and you did! so Yay! How did you find the experience of writing a book? I found one of the more challenging things to be dealing with other people's expectations of what 'success' meant for my book. :) I'll go back and read in case I missed this in one of your previous installments, but I'm definitely interested in any thoughts you have / had on how working on a book was different (or not) from your other writing work. Much much love as always :) I look forward to all your posts as a window into your world. Best of luck to Joe with the woodworking business as well!
Another compelling and fascinating read from top to bottom. I think I left this in a previous comment, but both you and Sharma ARE the 'light' in your stories because by writing about them you bring these uncomfortable truths 'to light' (whether factual / physical truths through journalism or emotional truths through fiction). It takes a very strong heart to write about things that most people find uncomfortable - so uncomfortable, in fact, that some would rather believe 'crisis actors' have been hired than that a horrific event really happened. I admire that both of you are neither the highway accident gawkers or the people who hide their faces and rush away when you encounter a dark and difficult subject, but instead reach out your hand and say, 'let me tell your story.' On some level it must offer a kind of comfort to those who face their darkest nights alone, that at some point it might come to light in a way that helps them feel seen through a loving and compassionate lens.
I write about Spirituality which I find - mostly - to be an uplifting and life-enriching experience, but there is much darkness in spirituality too. In my book about the Spiritual Path I write that the number one risk of spiritual work is delusion. I feel like this too often goes unsaid... (unless in a book that's critical of spirituality). Dark things can happen to anyone - and often we are at our most vulnerable when we think we're at our least. We ignore the dark side of life, spirituality, and everything at our peril.
Also - I just ordered your book and I am SO excited for it. I've been thinking for so long you should write a book - and you did! so Yay! How did you find the experience of writing a book? I found one of the more challenging things to be dealing with other people's expectations of what 'success' meant for my book. :) I'll go back and read in case I missed this in one of your previous installments, but I'm definitely interested in any thoughts you have / had on how working on a book was different (or not) from your other writing work. Much much love as always :) I look forward to all your posts as a window into your world. Best of luck to Joe with the woodworking business as well!