I recently finished the Hulu miniseries Little Fires Everywhere, based on the novel by Celeste Ng. (I have not read the book, although I understand that the screen adaptation departs from it in important ways.) I was unaware of the plot when I clicked to watch the miniseries, and wow — it resonated with me deeply. I didn’t love the ending, which I won’t give away for those who haven’t seen it, but the show addressed heavy, complicated themes profoundly. It made a big impression on me.
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The summer vacation season is upon us, and the weather here in East Tennessee is already getting hot and humid. Whether you’ll be lounging on the beach with a book or staying in your air-conditioned home avoiding the heat, the lazy days of summer are a great time to do a little reading. Most of the “Best Beach Reads” lists out there tend to focus on novels, but as someone who reads a lot of nonfiction, I thought it would be fun to round up some of my favorite memoirs and inspirational books that I’ve read over the past few years. Here they are, in no particular order:
The writing I do falls into three broad categories: (1) blog posts; (2) pieces that might someday be published (personal essays, poems, fiction); and (3) things I write only for myself (and I suppose the writing I do for work is a fourth category, but that’s a whole different animal). Today, I’d like to talk about the third category. What’s the point of writing things that no one else will ever read?
I’m a big believer in the transformative and connective power of telling your story. It’s been almost a year now since I began my practice of writing creatively on a nearly daily basis, and I have learned so much about myself in the process. While most of what I’ve written has never been shared publicly, taking the time to reflect on the events of my life and how they’ve shaped me has been truly invaluable from a personal development perspective. And while I was a little nervous about starting this blog and putting my thoughts and personal stories out there on the internet for anyone to read, I’ve been so moved and encouraged by the feedback I’ve received. I love getting an email or comment from someone who can relate to what I’ve posted, and this blog has helped to deepen the conversations I have with some of the people in my life.