The Cunning of the Innocent: Showing the Unsavory Side of Yourself in Memoir
* This post originally appeared in The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Newsletter in December 2024. The Cunning of the Innocent: Showing the Unsavory Side of Yourself in Memoir By Adelle Purdham Content Warning: Family Violence, Child Abuse What if I told you a mother slapped her daughter? Now, what if I told you that she’s a devoted and loving mother—would you believe me? Is the order of these two pieces of information important? What if I now
Weightless
I did something I’ve never done before. I booked a one-hour time slot to experience a float tank and what is called “Floatation Therapy.” Why? Life is a relentless rush, steams of light and fury, full of intrusions and distractions
How To Skip A Stone
How to Skip a Stone Thoughts on Writing & Teaching Creative Writing My family once spent a magical week at a cottage in Amberley Beach, doing almost nothing. It was springtime—the water too cold to swim. The two big kids
Summer Hours
What is a summer for? This question is reminiscent of a series of questions Mary Oliver asks in her famous poem “The Summer Day”: “Tell me, what else should I have done?/ Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?/
The Thing With Teeth
What is it that’s biting into you? Covid, Covid is the thing that’s sunk its jaws into my flank, that’s shaking me like a rag doll and refusing to let go. The thing I want to bite into: new short
