I’ve returned countless times to “A Country Road Song,” in which Andre Dubus (the late father of Andre Dubus III) contemplates the fragility of the body, the turning of the year and the place of us humans in the natural world. Unavailable online, it’s the highlight of his essay collection Meditations from a Movable Chair. Dubus lost one leg and the use of the other while helping a stranger at the side of the road—hence the wheelchair in which he spent the rest of his life. He mourns and celebrates in the same breath. His structure, cadences, and exquisite precision teach me something new on each rereading.
I'm new to this substack on memoirs. I went with the impulse, to sit in the circle with this tribe of pen merchant's. I am just an outline here, no word to birth me into a form. Impulse though can be a strong aphrodisiac and I long for intimacy, first with myself and then through myself to others. My empty bowl I hold bravely in towards the center of the circle, praying for my word illuminated from within.
from when the hairpin was at its peak: this one from durga chew-bose fundamentally changed how I wrote my own essays https://medium.com/the-hairpin/some-things-i-cannot-unhear-2f527fc318c1
Oh, I miss The Hairpin…
Erosion by Jeanie Riess. Such a beautiful, fragmented reflection on life and environment and family and culture, and how they intersect.
https://oxfordamerican.org/magazine/issue-116-spring-2022/erosion
Thanks!
It was like Camelot! One brief shining moment! It was lovely.
This was one of my favorite essays from 2024 (the author, sadly, passed away soon after):
In the Land of the Very Old
https://sundaylongread.com/2024/01/23/in-the-land-of-the-very-old/amp/
And here’s an excerpt from my forthcoming book, just published at The Cut:
Screaming for Freedom Corky the Orca’s cries from captivity have shattered glass. I know the feeling.
https://www.thecut.com/article/corky-killer-whale-orca-seaworld-anniversary-captivity-cries.html#/
I’ve returned countless times to “A Country Road Song,” in which Andre Dubus (the late father of Andre Dubus III) contemplates the fragility of the body, the turning of the year and the place of us humans in the natural world. Unavailable online, it’s the highlight of his essay collection Meditations from a Movable Chair. Dubus lost one leg and the use of the other while helping a stranger at the side of the road—hence the wheelchair in which he spent the rest of his life. He mourns and celebrates in the same breath. His structure, cadences, and exquisite precision teach me something new on each rereading.
https://www.thesunmagazine.org/articles/21716-the-love-of-my-life
https://www.kieselaymon.com/how-to-slowly-kill-yourself-and-others-in-america
BFF By Sarah Gerard
Hope you are feeling better!
Thank you. Both of those are great!
Tom Junod’s essay for esquire about Mr. Rogers, “Can you say… Hero?”
I think that's more a profile...?
Yours, Sari, always. Because they’re like letters from you.
I love you, Carolita. <3
Beckett Johnson posts moving essays about simple moments of human connection he has shared in since getting on his feet after TBI. This is a favorite: https://substack.com/@beckettjohnson/note/c-82376766?r=1u1b1c&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
And I invite you all to read a personal essay, adapted from my memoir-in-the-works, published today in The Rumen. Until I post it in my Stack, you can read it here: https://www.therumen.com/publications/l1yjRLs55TDl7FJLZjr9
I'm new to this substack on memoirs. I went with the impulse, to sit in the circle with this tribe of pen merchant's. I am just an outline here, no word to birth me into a form. Impulse though can be a strong aphrodisiac and I long for intimacy, first with myself and then through myself to others. My empty bowl I hold bravely in towards the center of the circle, praying for my word illuminated from within.
Author is me, Nancy Johnson from Colorado
https://www.newsweek.com/i-hated-myself-what-i-did-then-realized-i-was-victim-1933281
https://mudseasonreview.com/2024/04/creative-nonfiction-issue-73/
“Grief” by Madelaine Zadik
From The New Yorker (and from Kushner's book), Rachel Kushner's "The Hard Crowd." https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/01/18/the-hard-crowd