Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (MWPA) recently started a project called Read & Loved which "spotlights hidden gems by Maine writers." Taryn Bowe, the Associate Director of MWPA, recently selected my essay, "Winter Song," to be featured in Read & Loved. You can read Taryn's comments in the Read & Loved post here. Anyone can submit to Read & Loved, so if you love a piece of writing by a Maine author, you can learn more about the process and submit here.

May is Stroke Awareness Month (it also happens to be Brain Tumor Awareness Month), and through my brain injury work, I was recently invited to have a conversation with Ralph Preston, a stroke survivor, brain injury advocate, and videographer, to talk about brain injury and the power of telling and sharing stories. You can find the recording here.

My latest newsletter is here, and it has a new name: the Red Eft. What on earth is a red eft? Read on to find out. This issue features artist and writer Emily Knowles, a couple recipes, writing updates, and reading recommendations, as well as a tree fact from Zoe. Happy reading!

My latest newsletter has arrived. It features Andrea Lani's forthcoming book, "Uphill Both Ways: Hiking toward Happiness on the Colorado Trail," a tiny cat knitting pattern from Ravelry, some reading recommendations, and more! You can find the newsletter here. Want to receive the newsletter in your inbox? Sign up here.

The folks at Farmer-ish recently reached out to let me know that they were nominating my essay, "Winter Song," for a Maine Literary Award. I'm grateful to them for their belief in the piece. The essay is about a dog, winter memories, and grief, as well as restoration and hope.

My November/December 2021 newsletter is here. It includes some new publications, my dear friend and author Carole Starr and her book To Root & To Rise, an epic knitting fail, and some tiger facts from Zoe. You can read it here.

I'm delighted to have an essay in the Winter Solstice Issue of Farmer-ish, Winter Song, which is about our old dog Elsie, grief, and hope for a restorative winter. I'd also encourage you to check out the entire Winter Solstice issue as well as their previous online issues and lovely 2021 print annual, which you can learn more about here.

I've been fortunate to work on a recent project with the New Hampshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention helping to raise awareness around suicide, help individuals share their personal stories, and educate around suicide prevention efforts on a national and local level. A couple of the stories near to my heart include Jim Scott's story and KC Christensen's story.  In addition, the group recently published this post about Holiday Stress & Suicide, and the website has a ton of informative blog posts, suicide prevention resources, and helpful information.

I recently had a short article included in the Maine Appalachian Trail Club's Maintainer Newsletter through a happy collision of two disparate parts of my life. My first husband Steve and I were volunteer maintainers of a section of the Appalachian Trail on Saddleback Mountain for many years, and shortly before his diagnosis we became lifetime members of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club. Since about a year after Steve's death, I have been working as a brain injury advocate and educator. Through this work, I recently was able to follow and highlight Maine stroke survivor Guy Pilote's thru hike of the Appalachian Trail to raise awareness around brain injury. Guy reached Katahdin in October, and I wrote up a little piece for the fall 2021 issue of the Maintainer, which you can find here. You can also download a copy here.

I'm honored to share that Farmer-ish has nominated my poem "Family Recipes" for a 2022 Pushcart Prize. You can read all about the wonderful pieces nominated here, and I would encourage you to check out Farmer-ish as a publication. They produce online issues as well as a beautiful print annual.

Image credit: Farmer-ish