Nancy Mills loves to connect and empower women. A dynamo with seemingly boundless energy, she recently called me before breakfast to be sure that the links I'd submitted for the 2016 Spirited Woman Directory were working properly. Nancy is both a visionary and a...
“If you want to improve in anything, start seeing mistakes and failures for what they are — the precise means of your education.” Gregory Ciotti What’s your mindset? Research shows that people with a “growth mindset” are more likely to focus on taking small steps to...
Often, when tragedy strikes, we feel singled out. As if we are the only ones who are suffering. Our culture tends to create an exclusion zone around people who are grieving, or who have been horribly wounded in some way. This only adds to the wounding and makes grief...
"As you approach the holidays, remember: grief is both a necessity and a privilege. It comes as a result of giving and receiving love. Don’t let anyone take your grief away. Love yourself. Be patient with yourself. And allow yourself to be surrounded by loving,...
Ken Budd recently published a post in The New York Times opinionator blog entitled "When Writers Expose the Dead" about writing a memoir closely describing his deceased father. He raises interesting questions for memoirists writing about people who have "turned in...
“There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were.” -- Dwight D. Eisenhower, American president Let’s begin with the sobering statistics: 21,000 children die every day around the world. That translates to a child dying...
About six months after my 19-year-old daughter Maya died, I remember walking home from the commuter train station in so much pain I was not sure I could make it. When I reached my driveway, I was choking back tears. I looked up and saw a giant Redwood tree, the furls...
"I’m drawn to those defiant souls who refuse to submit to tough circumstances, those who jut out their chins and stubbornly defy the odds." -- Donald Dempsey, author of Betty's Child I'm pleased to welcome fellow Dream of Things author Donald Dempsey for a guest post...
“Life gets mighty precious when there’s less of it to waste.” – Bonnie Raitt There was a time in my life I thought I’d never be happy again. But I’ve learned to look at seasons of life, not just days or years. Lately, I’ve been very happy. Not euphoric, mind you, but...
I am blessed by wonderful friends. A number of them are women young enough to be my daughters. Today, I opened my mailbox to find a letter from one of them, Kelli Jones. It was a fan letter, a love letter, a blast of encouragement strong enough to make me vow to write...