In the last week, our two 9-month-old beagles, George (for Curious George) and Stuart (for Stuart Little), have brought home two turkey claws, a bushy squirrel tail, and a dead rabbit. I don’t think they have the speed or tenacity to catch these animals. They’re simply picking up winter detritus and having a little fun […]
Spring Trip
Well, we’ve just arrived home from a West Coast trip–for one of Dan’s conferences, for a short 24-hour jaunt to the Tucson Festival of Books (me alone), and for seeing a handful of our lovely families in southern California. My mother took care of Liliana two nights in the hotel room, while we had dinners […]
The Writing Life
Have you read The Writing Life by Annie Dillard? You should, you should, if you’re a writer (or any sort of artist). Aren’t we all, in a way? I’m in the throes of writing again, so these quotes mean something to me. Perhaps you’d like to listen in… “So it is that a writer writes […]
Marcelo in the Real World
This book is unputdownable, mesmerizing, and heartbreaking. Marcelo Sandoval is a seventeen-year-old boy who has an autism-like impairment. He hears music in his head, has an infatuation with religious sayings, and has difficulty reading people’s mannerisms. When his father asks him to enter “the real world” of a law firm for a summer, he reluctantly […]
Mini-Retreat: Day Three
Do you come to this third day of our mini-retreat with great trepidation or great joy? Or with a feeling in-between? May I just say that I admire that you’re reading this (not because of me, but because of the content), and that by daring to ask these questions of yourself, you’re growing and learning. […]