Category Archives: Cancer

Little Bits of Celebration

Here’s the literary magazine I refer to in the video: Flora Fiction. Check them out and give my poems a little love when the spring issue comes out. 🙂 Also, since recording this video earlier today, I received the news from my husband that our middle child is recovering from his surgery and doing well!Continue reading “Little Bits of Celebration”

Poem: Heart’s Shiver

Rolling farmland conceals cars in its dipping valleys. Corn stalks sway and tremble in dance before they flutter away like long-limbed birds over fields, peppering grassy bluffs with their stories. Telling my own story, I stutter and stumble back into my mind, heedless of my lesson. Rough edges of the highway caress the greying river.Continue reading “Poem: Heart’s Shiver”

A Lesson in Resilience

I’m working on two writing projects at the moment: one is a novel and one is nonfiction. The novel is a thoughtful sort of love story that is as concerned about the characters’ growth as it is with romance. It explores issues that are important to me, including life as a young cancer survivor. ThereContinue reading “A Lesson in Resilience”

Are you the main character?

As a writer and writing teacher, I was intrigued by this question when I heard it the other day: Are you the main character in your life? What are your thoughts when you hear this question? Do you agree with my gut reaction about control or my later (hopefully slightly insightful) thoughts about growth? AreContinue reading “Are you the main character?”

Living Beyond Inspiration

I recorded this video yesterday evening; the snow that I mention has since begun and doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon. Yesterday, I heard the news about Nightbirde’s death and meant to honor her by saying a few words about living beyond the people who inspire us. I find that I’ve been inspired byContinue reading “Living Beyond Inspiration”

Two Under Two Plus Cancer

NOTE: I originally wrote this piece two years ago, in February 2020, while going through chemotherapy for stage 3 breast cancer. Though times have changed, my kids are still crazy. I had a really weird dream the other night. I was in a dimly-lit room, a combination movie theatre/computer lab/lecture hall. A large projector screenContinue reading “Two Under Two Plus Cancer”

Press Restart

The other weekend, my husband and I took the kids sledding on a little hill behind our house. Even though it was only just barely above zero, we were bundled up warmly, and the kids screamed with laughter as they flew down the hill. Our youngest child bounced over a particularly wavy patch of frozenContinue reading “Press Restart”

Strength in Simple Words

Last week I went in for my annual mammogram, and the technologist recognized me instantly. “How old is your little guy now?” “He’ll be two on Sunday,” I said, surprising myself by how quickly time had passed. “Already?!” She couldn’t believe it either. At my very first mammogram, she’d met my son, who had onlyContinue reading “Strength in Simple Words”