Nah, that's not right. But read on for two reviews of outstanding new books. A Review of Lucky Red (Claudia Cravens) Released on June 20, 2023 Support Bookish & Preorder on Bookshop Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens helped me linger in that cow(girl) state of mind originally inspired by Yellowstone–then continuously fed by a whole... Continue Reading →
First Impressions of Adulting
I took the stairs two at a time, headed up to the eighth floor. I wondered, for the third time, whether showing up at a new job wearing a red baseball cap, camouflage cargo shorts and a ribbed white tank top the thickness of tissue paper was such a good idea. I shrugged it off.... Continue Reading →
Maybe Knowing Thyself Isn’t All That Easy
Years ago, back in Florida, I spent hours sitting in community centers and church fellowship halls, drinking really bad coffee, and learning things that would keep me sober and sane. One of those ideas that I loop back to the most is that our self perception is slow to change. In fact, we're often the... Continue Reading →
It’s Complicated: Love for Grown Folks
I didn’t understand what love would be like. Not love for grown-folks. How could I really? Love isn’t something you can understand until you are in the thick of it. And then sometimes it’s hard to parse out exactly what you should be doing, when and how you should draw lines, chart new directions, rely... Continue Reading →
Working Title Gospel
I’ve been itching to write my own gospel. A little bastion of ideas and thoughts so deeply held that they’re woven into the fabric of my life. Kind of like The Gospel According to Shug Avery–something real and true. Something I’ve had to create and live into to dispel all the hurt and ache my... Continue Reading →
#Letters4TransKids
Dear Trans Kids: I went outside today, and the blueness of the sky took my breath away. I stood there, feeling the barely-there burn of the sun against my skin, and I remembered deeply, on a cellular level, that the divine infuses everything. Me. You. The sun, the moon, the stars, the trees. We are... Continue Reading →
1990s Lesbian
I woke up in the middle of the night acutely aware of my vulnerability. I felt exposed, stripped bare, unnerved by my fragility. This morning, still weirdly raw, I spied a version of every 1990s lesbian I knew fixing her truck at the Valero. I felt a rush of affinity for this random woman. And... Continue Reading →
Her Timing is Always a Mystery
Parenting is largely intuitive. Right? Or am I doing it wrong? Because this really feels, for the most part, like a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants endeavor. It's not so much the "where do babies come from?" conversations... those big ones are expected. You kind of get to plan for those. And, honestly, for us that one was easy...... Continue Reading →
Flashlights & Love
Our first Valentine's Day together, Simon got me a flashlight. Oh, he got me some red roses, too. But the flashlight was the main present. He wanted me to be prepared, just in case. This is his way, laying a path and making way for my independence, nurturing my strength. But I didn't know that... Continue Reading →
Gay Isn’t an Insult.
Some kid at school "insulted" my baby by calling her "gay." And I swear, it lit me up... like I wanted to march down to that school and give that damn kid (and every adult in the vicinity of his life) a tongue-lashing he wouldn't likely forget. But instead, I took a few deep breaths... Continue Reading →