Tag: Personal Essays
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Where Else to Look
A spreadsheet off by $409.38 turns into a question about what it means to notice — in friendships, in writing, in grief, in faith. A personal essay on why some things never fully reconcile, and why looking anyway might be the whole point.
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Looking Up from Here
Every story is told in a straight line, right? Beginning, middle, end. Mine looks more like shards of broken glass. Choices, truths, and the grace that met me in the quiet turned my story into something I stopped hiding.
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A Secret I’m Bad At Keeping
Finally, it’s finished! My first thriller fiction novel. Restitution — it’s about a woman who uncovers something she was never supposed to find and must choose between exposing it or staying silent. I’ve spent the better part of the last three weeks getting it ready for the BookLife contest. Now I’m ready to talk about…
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Mile Nine
Nobody claps for mile nine. That’s the whole point. A new essay on leadership, endurance, and those quiet decisions no one sees.
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Baseball. Hot dogs. Apple pie. And Chevrolet.
A jingle once meant everybody. No explanation needed. Did we lose that? Or forget? A Fourth of July essay on freedom, division, and showing up.
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Love Out Loud
There’s a phrase I keep hearing lately. It sounds generous. Open-handed. Every once in a while, it is.
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It’s Acceptable
His sermon was and is true. Until it became inconvenient for him. New essay on anger, integrity, and practicing what you preach.
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Mrs. Sheldon
Did she see what was happening at home? Or did I just get lucky with my artwork? Mrs. Sheldon stopped to look. It was a hard year.
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525 Degrees of Truth: A Roofing Accident That Changed Everything
You can smell hot asphalt from three blocks away. But when you’re standing next to 525-degree molten tar, that smell becomes everything. The mid-June sun beat down on Timber Ridge Junior High that Friday morning. We had a new guy on our Arrow Roofing crew. Darrell claimed to be a journeyman. His handshake was firm,…
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“You Are a Symbol of Resilience and Strength”
A man loses his son, mother-in-law, dog, job, and marriage in 2022. A fortune cookie’s message about resilience initially stings but eventually guides his transformation through storytelling.