I am excited to introduce Sarah Gettel, a good friend and accountability partner who’s been working behind the scenes with Heart-Head-Hands: Everyday Living for Justice. Sarah and I met in 2019, soon after I’d left my faculty career, through mutual contacts engaged in racial justice organizing in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We deepened our relationship in the early days of the pandemic, forming an accountability pod and meeting regularly with Rasha Diab ... Read more ...
community care
Q&A with Candace Epps-Robertson, Ph.D.: Introducing Full Circle Writing, LLC
Many of you know Candace Epps-Robertson, Ph.D., a collaborator with Heart-Head-Hands, facilitator of writing groups, and co-creator of pathways through burnout. Candace has previously shared her work through the Q&A blog post “On Seasons of Life, Writing, and Career.” In January, Candace made a career transition, leaving her faculty position and launching Full Circle Writing, LLC. So, this Q&A blog post shares her business launch and new offerings to support ... Read more ...
Reflections on Helene: Sharing a Poem “In Gratitude” from Dandelion Scribes
I am so grateful to have a poem included in the collection “From the Holler to the Sea: Hurricane Helene Survivors Speak Out”—a collaboration of the Appalachian poetry space Dandelion Scribes and local organizing collective Rednecks Rising. Through reading the collection, I am really appreciating the opportunity to reflect on experiences with and changed lives from Hurricane Helene. The framing around “solidarity amidst ongoing global polycrisis” serves as another ... Read more ...
Coaching as a Way of Working with Fears
Recent coaching sessions have been addressing fear in one way or another. Surely, fear is pronounced in these times -- with threats coming from many directions; with uncertainty, suffering, and crisis amplified; and with cruelty, cuts, and a coup all central to everyday experiences. In this week's writing group, one member said that they're having to make decisions about how to show up at their institution, and this question aligned with questions I'm hearing in ... Read more ...
Love in Action: Sharing Protests and Prayers for These Times
This Valentine’s Day, let’s come together and share some of the protests and prayers we are writing for these times. We’re in times when what we love—people, the earth, and justice itself—are attacked with great force. The first weeks of the new administration have brought intense cruelty and terrorizing assertions of dominance. We respond in many ways, including with efforts to block harm, to build liberatory futures, and to be present with and for each ... Read more ...
Care as an Amulet Against Cruelty
I've wanted to offer a gift for today, heading into the inauguration here in the United States and knowing that this time is so tender and troubling for many, many reasons. Like many of you, I am stretched so far and feeling so thin that I haven't pulled off my gifting hopes. But I have been playing with the word and learning more about CARE, because I hope care will be a balm for these times. Here's my word play. A poem perhaps? Maybe this feels like a soft landing ... Read more ...
Writing Retreats Are for All Sorts of Writing
Writing retreats are for writers creating across genres, at any stage, and for various audiences, including ourselves. But so often, even when we spend our lives working with words, we bracket what counts as “writing,” and we find it hard to claim the role of “writer.” This blog post combines reflections from two of us, Beth and Phoenix, about the experience of one-day, online writing retreats. Together, we want to affirm that, truly: writing is expansive, and writing ... Read more ...
A Well of Capacity Comes from Community
Today I want to share as many hugs as possible and remember the well of capacity that comes from community. I feel such deep gratitude for people reaching out and connecting. I feel such deep longing to be in community ~ both locally (back in Asheville + Appalachia) and with beloved community (across space + time). I feel such deep grief over what seems to be the choice of an especially brutal route toward empire collapse. In the midst of these many feelings, I am ... Read more ...
Deep Gratitude Following Helene and Support for These Times
I write with deep gratitude for the outpouring of support that has buoyed me these past few weeks since Helene hit Southern Appalachia, resulting in catastrophic loss and continuing recovery for my new hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. I’ve felt such support, as many of you have reached out and even helped make connections toward a short-term housing situation. I am especially grateful for my Agnes Scott College network: for the next few weeks, I'll be in a familiar ... Read more ...
Update from (Outside) Asheville: Next Steps after Hurricane Helene
I write with such gratitude for an outpouring of support these past few days, since Hurricane Helene hit Southern Appalachia, leaving catastrophic damage across Western North Carolina (WNC). Here’s an update on where I am and what lies ahead for the coming months. My spouse Jonathan and I are safe and currently in Charlotte, North Carolina, but it's been a harrowing few days ~ both in the midst of and aftermath of Hurricane Helene. At this point, what’s clear is that ... Read more ...
