Search: "#self help"


Opposite Optimism: Life is Too Long Tue Nov 22 2016
Life is sometimes harder than it needs to be. I understand. We deserve to feel like life really is too short. Until then, though, I’m sticking with the opposite of optimism as a means of inspiration. read this article
#depression #self-help #sadness
My Christmas Gift to Myself Wed Dec 26 2018
I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions, but every year since high school—ok, most years—I’ve done what I call “A Christmas Gift to Myself” every Dec. 26th.   read this article
#Self-care #EmbraceTheWritingLife
Manuscript Consultation Sun Jul 16 2017
Do you have a memoir or essay collection in progress that could use a little help? I am now offering manuscript consultation services at reasonable rates. read this article
#Consultation #Editing
TBR Tuesday: The End of Something Wonderful: A Practical Guide to a Backyard Funeral by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic Tue Sep 03 2019
Kids feel things deeply. We need all the resources we can to help them survive childhood. A new release and a few other resources for kids who have recently lost a pet. read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #EndofSomethingWonderful #Grief
Feminine Rising Wins the Silver! Wed Jun 17 2020
I'm honored and humbled to be able to help bring these wonderful women's voices to the world.  read this article
#FeminineRising #ForewordReviews #Feminist #StrongWomen #Silver
Being Female is my Super Power Tue Jul 03 2018
I feel as if being female is a super power—we have this whole community that is eager to help each other. view at thedebutanteball
#DebutanteBall #PublishingAsAWoman
Tiny Pants' First Birthday Wed Mar 13 2019
Ten years ago I was a newly-single mama who needed to somehow pull off a 1st Birthday party. Luckily I had friends to help. read this article
#FirstBirthday #OnlyMama #SingleParenting #Friends
Listen to my Appearance on the Family Equality Council's Outspoken Voices Podcast Wed Oct 03 2018
LGBTQ individuals and families are beautiful, kind, complex, and can experience trauma, just like any family. What is unique to LGBTQ families is the added layer of stigma and fear of discrimination. What happens if we seek help and acknowledge that we aren't perfect? view at outspokenvoicespodcast
#Girlish #Podcast #FamilyEquityCouncil
Excerpt: Read my Introduction to FEMININE RISING Wed Jan 30 2019
Read my introduction to Feminine Rising: Voices of Power and Invisibility read this article
#FeminineRising #Anthology #Feminist #StrongWomen
The Generous Spirit of Andrea Fekete Wed Nov 16 2016
I don’t have sports heroes, and I don’t know the names of the current Hollywood A-Listers. My heroes are writers. Artists. People who try to find the most honest truth, and hold it in their hand for everyone else to see. read this article
#writing #friends #WVWCMFA #poetry
TBR Tuesday: Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass Tue Apr 07 2020
This queer YA has it all—suspense, mystery, adventure, revenge, and romance.  read this article
#TBRTuesday #YA #Diverse #Queer #Flux #SurrenderYourSons #AdamSass
My First Time Speaking at a Writer’s Conference: My Takeaways from HippoCamp17 Mon Sep 11 2017
Being a speaker shift my mindset from, “talking to people is terribly scary,” to “I am a professional and I have a responsibility to do the talking thing.” read this article
#Writing #HippoCamp #Presenting
Pride Month Book Club: Adult Book Club Picks: The Gender Edition Sat Jun 01 2019
Each week of Pride month I will give your book club a few recommendations in queer categories of my choosing. The first week is the gender edition. read this article
#PrideMonthBookClub #Gender #JMASEIII, #RaeTheodore #RobynRyle #LoriDuron #JeanetteWinterson #LauraKateDale #
Parenting Styles: My Biggest Mistake with Family Game Night Mon Jul 15 2019
I was pretty excited when my eldest was old enough to play Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. I’d been waiting for years and years to reach board game age. Unfortunately, the two-and-a-half-year age gap between my kids meant that my youngest wasn’t ready—not by a long shot. Neither was he interested in leaving us alone to play a board game without his “help.” If you have a toddler, you know just how helpful they can be. view at modernparentsmessykids
#ModernParentsMessyKids #GameNightFail #Cheating #LettingKidsWin #Parenting
TBR Tuesday Review: I WANTED FRIES WITH THAT by Amy Fish and GIVEAWAY Tue Aug 13 2019
My dear friend Amy Fish has a book coming out this fall and I’ve taken it upon myself to become a one-person evangelist for it, so to whet your appetite I not only reviewed it early but am running a giveaway for her first book, The Art of Complaining Effectively. read this article
#AmyFish #IWantedFriesWithThat #Giveaway
In Which My Cat Longs to Become a Feline Who Lunches Mon Jun 11 2018
My cat has recently decided he wants to partake in daily lunch. Said cat is seven years old, and heretofore has never eaten lunch. I am uncertain who even informed him about the existence of lunch since he’s an indoor cat. read this article
#Cats #humor #lunch
TBR Tuesday: GEORGE by Alex Gino Tue Dec 04 2018
A middle grade story of a trans girl trying to find her place. read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #George #AlexGino #QueerLit #LGBTQIA #Trans
TBR Tuesday: SPARK by Sarah Beth Durst Tue May 14 2019
Spark is, at its heart, the story of a quiet girl who learns that she is enough just as she is. read this article
1 Minute Reading in Support of AWP's Writer To Writer Program Tue Sep 28 2021
Watch me read a one-minute excerpt from my essay, "The Right Tap." read this article
#AWP #W2W #RightTap
When it Comes to Blood-Sucking Parasites, I’ll Take all the Hope I can Get Fri Jan 06 2017
I tend to think I am an intelligent person who does not fall easy prey to snake oil sales pitches, but when it comes to lice, all rational thought goes out the window read this article
#Lice #Parenting
GoFundMe is the Modern Casserole Brigade Thu Jul 12 2018
Go Fund Me is the virtual casserole brigade, and it’s as much for the donors as for the recipients. read this article
#Grieving #GoFundMe
An Essay on Fear Wed Nov 01 2017
It’s not lies I am afraid of as much as the unexplained truths. read this article
#Essays #Fear #Memoir #WriteYourShame
Book Review: UNWRITTEN by Tara Gilboy (Middle Grade Fantasy) Tue Oct 16 2018
Happy release day to Tara Gilboy! Read on to hear my thoughts on her Middle Grade fantasy, UNWRITTEN read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #Unwritten #NetGalley #MiddleGrade
TBR Tuesday Picture Book Review: The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld Tue Jun 18 2019
I’m more of a Middle Grade than Picture Book reader, but it has come to my attention recently that I am perhaps not always that great at listening, so after getting multiple recommendations for this book I took it as a sign. read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #PB #RabbitListened #Empathy #Friendship
Interview with Jon Etter, Author of Another Dreadful Fairy Book Tue Dec 31 2019
Jon Etter's wonderful 2nd book, Another Dreadful Fairy Book, hits the shelves January 7, 2020. I sat down (via the internets) and chatted with Jon about the new book and the writing life. read this article
#DreadfulFairyBooks #Etter #ChicagoReviewofBooks #MiddleGrade #Fanatasy
In Which I Receive The Infamous Email from the Health Teacher Mon Feb 20 2017
I have been dreading the school notification for over a year.  You know, the one that says something about how we will be having a health class just for boys and another one just for girls. Sex Ed, middle school style. read this article
#ComprehensiveSexualityEducation #TheTalk #AwkwardParenting
Freudian Lawn Job Mon May 29 2017
I feel like there is a great metaphor in here somewhere—a reason for my purely accidental yet consistent egregious behavior. read this article
#Freud #Divorce
Three LGBTQIA-Themed Picture Books in Time for Holiday Shopping Tue Nov 13 2018
I pawn my work off on my 10-year-old and get him to review books for me. read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #RED #JulianIsaMermaid #JeromeByHeart #LGBTQIAbooks #QueerLit
Irreverent Instructions for Making Bird Seed Ornaments Fri Nov 16 2018
As a parent, I both love and loathe doing crafts with my children. I want them to make stuff. I just don’t have anywhere left to put the stuff they make, and my kids don’t want to get rid of anything, ever. This conundrum was solved with the Birdseed Ornament we made with our moms year after year. read this article
#OnlyMama #NatureCrafts #How-To #How-Not-To #Humor #HomemadeHoliday #decorations
Same, Same, Same, Same, Same, Different, Different, Different Thu Oct 31 2013
My first ex-mother-in-law had six kids: three girls in a row, followed by three boys in a row. "They come as they come," she used to always say, meaning that their inherent personality was fixed and unchangeable from birth. read this article
#brothers #parenting #OnlyMama
TBR Tuesday: Motherhood So White by Nefertiti Austin Tue Sep 24 2019
I was lucky to read an advance copy of Motherhood So White on Net Galley, and I've been waiting months for it to finally come to bookstores so I can rave about it.  read this article
#TBRTuesday #MotherhoodSoWhite #Austin #Sourcebooks #WOC #Mothering #Adoption
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards Review of DRAGON BROTHERS Sat May 23 2020
"A cleverly plotted fantasy adventure with a strong moral message. Perfect for 9 – 12-year-olds and highly recommended." --The Wishing Shelf read this article
#WishingShefReview #DragonBrothers
Medium Fri Jun 10 2016
 I am medium. Brown hair, brown eyes, medium height, weight, and shoe-size. My brother is tall, and by tall I mean outside the bell curve.  He says he’s six-foot-nine, but my mother thinks he’s closer to six-foot-seven.  All I know is that if I stretch my hand as high as it can go, I can just reach the top of his head.  Like telling a fish story, when someone asks how tall my brother is, I just say, “he’s this big.”  read this article
#essay #height #siblings
The Talk of a Lifetime Mon Mar 13 2017
So how do we facilitate conversations that spark memory and move to deeper levels? By asking questions. How do we think of good questions? By using other people’s questions. (it's not laziness, it's efficiency.) read this article
#TalkOfALifetime #IntergenerationalBonding #ProductReview
Mothering and Fear Fri Sep 28 2018
We know there likely will be at least one moment of physical danger that they may or may not evade. A shove. A punch. A horde of children intent on inflicting pain. I hope my boys learn the snappy comeback, find an alternative exit.  read this article
#FreeWriteFriday #fear #Violence #Mothering
Boys Are Useful In Unexpected Ways (and I have a water feature) Fri Aug 16 2013
Sometimes kids are handy to have around. I don't mean because they fill your heart with joy or keep you young, or teach you patience. Sometimes they are down right useful. read this article
#Parenting #Only-Mama #RaisingBoys
TBR Tuesday: The Elephant's Girl by Celesta Rimington Mon May 18 2020
This middle-grade novel about creating family and finding out who you are is the perfect escape for our current time of uncertainty. I was quickly swept away by this engrossing story about a girl with magic powers and the elephant who loves her. read this article
#Elephant'sGirl #MG #NewRelease #BookReview
Why We Need Darkness in YA Literature Thu Jul 05 2018
I buy books for my sons. I read reviews and get recommendations and thrust books into their hands and walk away. I don’t generally pre-read the books before I give them to the boys. When I do read them, I'm often surprised. read this article
#YA #Parenting #Darkness
TBR Tuesday: Burn The Stage by Marc Shapiro Tue Dec 25 2018
I am the mother of a pop music loving 10-year-old. There’re two ways to go about raising a small person who loves all the latest teeny-bopper hits: buy large earmuffs or embrace it. read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #BTS
TBR Tuesday Review: I AM YOURS by Reema Zaman Tue Feb 05 2019
Today's suggestion for your To Be Read pile is I am Yours by Reema Zaman, released today, February 5, 2019. This stunning debut memoir is unlike anything I've read before.  read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #IamYours #ReemaZaman #MovingForewords #Memoir
TBT Monday Book Review: Hurricane Season by Nicole Melleby Mon May 06 2019
This is a book I needed as a child, and the fact that it exists for my own children gives me hope for the world. read this article
#BookReview #HurricaneSeason #MG #MentalIllness #Queer
TBR Tuesday Review: The Sound of Silence By Myron Uhlberg Tue May 28 2019
A middle grade adaptation of Uhlberg's memoir on growing up the hearing child of deaf parents. read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #TheSoundofSilence #MyronUhlberg #MG #Memoir
The Joy of Losing Wed May 14 2014
It's baseball season again. Because I have more enthusiasm than self-preservation, I signed Big Pants up for travel baseball. Because, yay, baseball! read this article
#OnlyMama #sports
TBR Tuesday Review: Uncomfortable Labels:My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman by Laura Kate Dale Tue Jul 16 2019
Clear, direct, and with an uncommon precision of language, Laura Kate Dale writes about her experience as a transgender autistic woman. Out July 18, 2019, with Jessica Kingsley Publishers. read this article
#NewRelease #TBRTuesday #LauraKateDale #UncomfortableLabels #Trans #Memoir
World's Simplest Beer Bread Sun Mar 15 2020
In this time of home confinement and empty stores, I thought I'd share some of my minimalist recipes from MAMA MAMA ONLY MAMA. This week: World's Simplest Beer Bread. (Only 3 ingredients) read this article
#MamaMamaOnlyMama #BeerBread #OverSimplifiedRecipies #BakingForThe Apocalypse
Interview with Peter Bunzl, author of SKYCIRCUS + GIVEAWAY Tue Feb 11 2020
Read my interview with middle grade fantasy author Peter Bunzl and enter our 3 book giveaway. read this article
#SkyCircus #AuthorInterview #MG #Fantasy #Giveaway
TBR Tuesday Interview: KJ Harrowick, Author of BLOODFLOWER Tue Feb 08 2022
read this article
#TBRTuesday #BloodFlower #fantasy
TBR Tuesday Review: Single-Minded by Lisa Daily Tue Jan 08 2019
This week's suggestion for your To Be Read list is SINGLE-MINDED by Lisa Daily, a hysterical romance featuring a divorced protagonist. read this article
#Romance #Single-Minded #LisaDaily #Divorce
TBR Tuesday: Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks by Nathan Burgoine Tue Dec 11 2018
Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks by Nathan Burgoine is a fun queer rom-com sci-fi novel set in present time Canada.  From Cole, our bullet journal loving protagonist, his ace BFF Alec, and Malik, the hottest guy in school, you will find someone to relate to or fall in love with in this brand-new YA novel. read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #ExitPlans #QueerLit #LGBTQIA #SciFi #YA
Book Review: DRAGON PEARL by Yoon Ha Lee Mon Jan 14 2019
I'm sure this amazing and gender-diverse Middle Grade Fantasy will be the next Star Wars. read this article
#BookReview #DragonPearl #MG #Fantasy #SPaceOpera #GenderInclusive #OwnVoices
TBR Tuesday Book Review: She/He/They/Me by Robyn Ryle Tue Mar 12 2019
She/He/They/Me is thorough, inclusive, and fun to read. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in exploring gender or someone frustrated by trying to explain gender to someone else.  read this article
#Gender #NonbinaryGender #LGBTQIA #Ryle #SheHeTheyMe
TBR Tuesday Review: Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark-McGinnis Tue Apr 23 2019
Extraordinary Birds is quite simply everything I've ever wanted in a middle grade novel. It's utterly captivating. read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #ExtraordinaryBirds #SandyStark-McGinnis
TBR Tuesday Review: Basilio Boullosa Stars in the Fountain of Highlandtown by Rafael Alvarez Tue Jun 04 2019
This week's suggestion for your TBR list is a rich, evocative work of literary fiction that I discovered at AWP. read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #Basilio #RafaelAlvarez
TBR Tuesday: Love Lives Here: A Story of Thriving in a Transgender Family by Amanda Jette Knox Tue Jul 30 2019
My review of new release memoir, "Love Lives Here," by Amanda Jette Knox. read this article
#TransgenderFamilies #Memoir #NewRelease
TBR Tuesday Review: Sapphire the Great and the Meaning of Life By Beverly Brenna Tue Feb 19 2019
This fun, illustrated middle grade novel features a hamster, a girl, and a family on the rocks. Sapphire the Great and the Meaning of Life was written in consultation with OutSaskatoon, an organization that supports LGBTQ2S+ people of all ages. read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #QueerSpawn #MG #SapphireTheGreat #LGBTQIA #Trans
TBR Tuesday Review + GIVEAWAY: THE PERFECT ASSASSIN by KA Doore Tue Mar 19 2019
Today is the release day of The Perfect Assassin (The Chronicles of Ghadid #1) by K.A. Doore! To celebrate, we’re offering up a free copy to one lucky reader! read this article
#BookReview#PerfectAssassin #KADoore #DebBall #LGBTQIA #QueerLit
Pride Month Book Club: Graphic Memoir and Graphic Novels Sat Jun 15 2019
Welcome to Pride Month Book Club the Graphic Memoir/Novel Edition! Here are three graphic memoirs for adult readers, and three books appropriate for all the readers in the household. read this article
#prideMonth #BookClub #GraphicNovels #GrpahicMemoir
TBR Tuesdays Interview with Krystal Sital, author of SECRETS WE KEPT Tue Sep 25 2018
From the moment I picked up Secrets We Kept: Three Women of Trinidad, I was enthralled with the beauty of Sital's prose. The narrative is gripping, but the art  with which she strings words together is simply gorgegous. I'm pleased to introduce you to her book, and to Krystal herself through this virtual interview.   read this article
#TBRTuesdays #AuthorInterview #KrystalSital #Memoir #HippoCamp #EmbraceTheWritingLife
TBR Tuesday: Waters Run Wild by Andrea Fekete + Inverview Tue Nov 27 2018
Historical literary fiction that will break your heart with its beauty. read this article
#BookReview #AuthorInterview #WatersRunWild #Fekete
TBR Tuesday: Interview with Meghan Scott Molin and Giveaway for THE FRAME UP Tue Dec 18 2018
In sum, Meghan Scott Molin has given us a tight--dare I say zany--caper peopled with the kind of characters I'd love to hang out with IRL.  If you enjoyed Janet Evanovitch's Stephanie Plum series, you'll love THE FRAME UP. read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #interview #Giveaway #GeekGirl #Mystery
TBR Tuesday Review: Burn the Binary by Rikki Wilchins Tue Feb 12 2019
When I saw BURN THE BINARY on Net Galley I had to request it. The conversation about trans, genderqueer and nonbinary people may feel new, but I wanted to know some historical context. After all, genderqueer people have always been with us, whether society chose to see them or not.  read this article
#TBRTuesdays #BookReview #BurnTheBinary #RikkiWilchins #Memoir
Watching boys start fires. Mon Aug 13 2018
Essay published in Whiskey Island Magazine Vol. 70 read this article
#WhiskeyIsland #Essays #Feminism



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