“I began to appreciate the fact that this highest point in Virginia didn’t have a view, a lesson about expectations and maybe a metaphor about some efforts being only about the effort itself and not some tangible reward at the end.”
Source: Wander: A Memoir of Letting go and Walking 2,000 Miles to a Meaningful Life.
“The clouds parted, and the trees were situated in such a way that the beams of light coming through the cracks felt like you could reach out and scoop a piece of the golden light into your hands.”
Source: Wander: A Memoir of Letting go and Walking 2,000 Miles to a Meaningful Life.
“I wondered what I might have learned about myself had I given myself the freedom, when I was fresh out of college, the permission to wander and contemplate what I wanted from my life.”
Source: Wander: A Memoir of Letting go and Walking 2,000 Miles to a Meaningful Life.
“I imagined the experience being similar to going your whole life believing you had perfect vision, then suddenly learning a new color, one that brought meaning to every other hue. How would I describe that? How would I convince former “me” of the importance? The more I thought about it, the less confident I was that I could, but the more convinced I was that I should try—not to the former me, of course, but to everyone.”
Source: Wander: A Memoir of Letting go and Walking 2,000 Miles to a Meaningful Life.
“Wasn’t that the whole point of the trail? To embrace growth as a journey, not some finished destination? To be okay just wandering, not sure where that wandering might take you?”
Source: Wander: A Memoir of Letting go and Walking 2,000 Miles to a Meaningful Life.
“The first was a touch unsettling, but before long it was more therapeutic than scary, listening to the soft thunder rolling through the hills and valleys around you. There was a connectedness to nature that the storm brought, almost like a deep voice singing to you as you lay in your tent.”
Source: Wander: A Memoir of Letting go and Walking 2,000 Miles to a Meaningful Life.
“All good writing reflects and illuminates life; Fast Funny Women holds up a compact mirror. In it you'll see yourself. With luck, you'll laugh.”
Source: Fast Funny Women: 75 Essays of Flash Nonfiction
“Hi, Anya. Can I join you?"
Anya looked up from her meal with a dour expression. "I'm not a blond."
An obvious statement, it made no sense without a context. She added, "I'm not a twig."
"You're not a twig, that's also true." He gave her a smile, curious where this was going.”
Source: Anya
“Defeat, my Defeat, my solitude and my aloofness;
You are dearer to me than a thousand triumphs,
And sweeter to my heart than all world-glory.
Defeat, my Defeat, my self-knowledge and my defiance,
Through you I know that I am yet young and swift of foot
And not to be trapped by withering laurels.
And in you I have found aloneness
And the joy of being shunned and scorned.
Defeat, my Defeat, my shining sword and shield,
In your eyes I have read
That to be enthroned is to be enslaved,
And to be understood is to be leveled down,
And to be grasped is but to reach one’s fullness
And like a ripe fruit to fall and be consumed.
Defeat, my Defeat, my bold companion,
You shall hear my songs and my cries and my silences,
And none but you shall speak to me of the beating of wings,
And urging of seas,
And of mountains that burn in the night,
And you alone shall climb my steep and rocky soul.
Defeat, my Defeat, my deathless courage,
You and I shall laugh together with the storm,
And together we shall dig graves for all that die in us,
And we shall stand in the sun with a will,
And we shall be dangerous.”
“This is one of my most fulfilling writing jobs. It was like having my own witching hour, when I summoned magic and breathed new life into the pages. With every keystroke, I crafted characters that came to life, captivating readers and leaving them spellbound.”
Source: Four Seasons