See the Person
Dear New MFA Students: Welcome to the Program
Dear New MFA Students: Welcome to the Program Writer’s Note: This post is inspired by the lovely buddy I’ve been paired with who is heading into the first year of the MFA program at The University of King’s College. They are taking my place as the new intrepid student I
How to get Your Kid With Down Syndrome in Trouble
Okay, I should tell you right now, there isn’t going to be anything serious about this post. When I say “get in trouble”, I don’t mean like, tell her to climb on a portable roof and then call the police, I mean it in the sense of discipline. Dear reader,
Two Hearts: on book launches, disability, writing community and Amanda Leduc
Recently, after having read The Book of Delights, I fell a bit in love with the author, Ross Gay—the book was that good. This falling in love with people is something that happens to me as a person who holds romantic notions inside her head. I let myself get swept
Dear New Parent Whose Baby is Hospitalized
You are not alone. And if you’re reading this, you’ve come to a good place. Two wonderful moms, Jess and Kayla, have created a space, Beyond the Beads, for families to share their hospital experiences and to come together and support one another. They asked me to share my family’s
Don’t Judge Me
On Monday after the holidays, Dan looks after our three girls while I sit upstairs in my bedroom office writing a class assignment due in the next few days. He’s being incredibly flexible and generous with his work time, and I am grateful for that, beyond grateful. We had many
Leave
I want to be upfront about something. I love my family; I am grateful for my quality of life and the joy I get from spending my days writing. I love my husband who keeps me particularly happy and understands my humour when I call him “pony” and tell him
Meat Suits
Choosing a career as a writer means I’m forever thinking to myself what is it you’re trying to say? I’ve spent the last few weeks listening. Listening might be the hardest skill for me there is, so strong is my desire to contribute to the conversation. What is it you’re
Own Voices
“Why are we not telling stories that celebrate and include differences?” asked Amanda Leduc, author of Disfigured, in a talk I listened to recently. The talk was a wonderful online session offered through Writers Literary Festival (put on by The New Quarterly, based in Waterloo, ON). Amanda Leduc and Emily