Recently I joined my library's summer reading challenge. I have been inspired by and enjoying the wide-ranging challenges, which not only span genres and activities but also stretch me in surprising ways. Examples include "read an author with your initials," "send your local library a postcard," and "visit special collections and look up a newspaper article from the day you were born."In the midst of this summer reading challenge, I am imagining a "career discernment ... Read more ...
burnout
After Academia: Career Paths in Community Writing
I am grateful to be presenting tomorrow (Saturday, October 25th) at the 2025 Conference on Community Writing, speaking on the roundtable “After Academia: Alternate Career Paths for Designing Justice.” Thanks to Megan Faver Hartline, Ph.D. (The Grants Clearinghouse) for organizing this session. And lots of gratitude for co-panelists Sonia Arellano, Ph.D. (Tampa VA Research and Education Foundation), Rachel Bloom-Pojar, Ph.D. (Confianza Collective), and Candace ... Read more ...
Reflection Questions for Sabbaticals (and Transitional Seasons of Life)
My coaching practice often involves questions about sabbaticals and how to move through these transitional times in intentional, reflective ways. Questions include: How do I find a different pace, a pace that’s more my own? How do I mark this new season of life or new season of career? How do I set boundaries with colleagues, family, and friends? What if I want to consider a career change? How do I make writing a priority when it’s been deprioritized for so long? What if ... Read more ...
Love Notes from Journal Pages
So much of my writing over the past year has been personal journaling. I have pages of scrawled notes and lots of therapeutic reflections. It’s the sort of writing that rarely sees the light of day. It’s also the writing in which insights pop up and out of the mess. Recently, I’ve been re-reading my journal pages and noticing how often I write love notes to myself, underlining what I want and need to hear. It’s occurred to me that these notes offer messages that many ... Read more ...
“Is This Burnout?” New Article Asking and Answering the Question
“Is this burnout or…? So many of us are asking this question and wondering if what we’re feeling is burnout. Is it burnout or exhaustion? Burnout or anxiety? Burnout or worker exploitation? Burnout or unreasonable expectations? Burnout or toxic workspace? Burnout or I’m 100% in caregiver mode? Burnout or over-capacity? Burnout or the world is on fire? Burnout or a breaking point? Burnout or …?” This is the opening inquiry of a collaborative article that Candace ... Read more ...
Honoring Struggles and Showing Up Imperfectly for Palestinian Liberation
To show up in this piece, which I’ve been trying to get out for weeks, I’ve realized that the only way to do so is to bring my full messy self. I don’t want to polish writing when that’s not true to the process or the way forward. As writers, we often have lots of discarded text and false starts. And we often spend hours weaving threads together into a cohesive whole. I really appreciate this work, and it gives me joy to do the weaving. Stitch by stitch, I understand ... Read more ...
Q&A with Candace Epps-Robertson: On Seasons of Life, Writing, and Career
This interview introduces Candace Epps-Robertson, Ph.D., a collaborator with Heart-Head-Hands, facilitator of writing groups, and co-creator of the new offering, “Pathways Through Burnout: A Cohort Experience.” Candace is a writer, researcher, and educator with deep commitments to justice and more than twenty years of experience in literacy education. She is also Associate Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she ... Read more ...
Intervening into Burnout, Building a Sense of What’s Possible
A new article, “Intervening into Burnout,” appears in Inside Higher Ed today. In this follow-up piece to “Honoring Ourselves and Each Other Through Burnout,” I offer examples of creative interventions into burnout. These examples are gifted to me through coaching, so I write with deep gratitude for people who are trying different ways of being, doing, feeling, thinking, relating and imagining in higher education. Here’s an excerpt: “Burnout is also never ... Read more ...
