I’ve been dreaming recently that I can talk. In these dreams I always know that my ability to speak will not last; it will come and go, so while it’s available I have to speak quickly and efficiently to say everything I need to say. It’s a...
Memento Mori
My son recently got a tattoo that runs the length of his thigh. It features a beautifully-rendered hour glass with a skull leaking from the top to the bottom. Along the top are inscribed the words: memento mori. This is the Latin phrase that...
For 20 Minutes No One Needs Me: The Relentless Pull of Productivity
Recently I was out of commission for a few days due to an unexpected reaction to a drug I’m taking for ALS. I could do nothing but sleep. I couldn’t imagine I would ever get enough. But each time I woke, I was seized with panic. I had things to...
The Freeing Embrace of Imperfection
My voice these days emerges sounding like the slow deep rasp of an old woman; occasionally it resembles the high-pitched chirp of a child. It is no longer under my control. Receptionists and clerks raise their voices with me as if I’m deaf or...
Hutzpah, Humility, Resilience, Persistence, Patience: 5 Assets Every Writer Needs Alongside Talent
Not long ago I read a thread on Twitter in which dozens of young writers were bemoaning the fact that they had not yet been published. They had set goals for themselves and worried that they had not yet met these goals as they were approaching...