June has arrived!
wishing you a summer of rest, renewal.
I am writing to you from a little cabin on the Kitsap Peninsula, still in disbelief that June has arrived already and I have this space to myself for a few days. Beside my research trip following migratory swans to the Yukon in April (I will post more about that book project soon!), this is my only solo getaway this year. I am using the time at a friend’s studio to write, read, and rest—three things I hope to do more of this summer.
It has been a strange year so far. Politically, there is too much to say right now. I will recommend Heather Cox Richardson’s Journey to American Democracy: 10 Steps to Revolution series on YouTube. Thank you for our representatives in northwestern Washington who continue to do their job, respect the system, and hold people responsible. Senator Patty Murray has been exceptionally remarkable in this moment.
On a local level, the last five months have been filled with some sweet family memories and slow, but steady, writing progress for me. I’ve had the privilege to work with a wonderful group of writers through my teaching and coaching practice. I also signed a new contract for a book about sheep dairying.
As we work on building out our new cheese aging room, it feels like the perfect time to reflect and write about all things dairy sheep. I am excited to gather all I have learned about this unique sector of agriculture and dream about what the sheep dairy industry will become in the future. Stay tuned for details!
I just finished reading Elissa Altman’s Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create and it’s a real gem. I brought it with me on this retreat so I could digest some of the important lessons she shares is this generous book.
Here a little morsel for you…
Along the way, I peeled the onion: how do we tell difficult stories that belong to us but to which others claim ownership? How do we handle issues of revenge writing? How do we resolve the problem of making time and space for actually doing the work? How do we decide to take the risk and write about what has been hidden? How do we remain creatively generous? How do we write with humility and compassion about impossibly difficult issues (and people) that might be devastating?
I came away with this understanding: that the act of writing one’s story is a spiritual exercise that all of us are called upon to do, whether we want to be published, or not. Storytelling is an endeavor reflective of the human condition, and handled with care, it will move us to a place of compassion, humility, self-knowledge, and transcendence. As Robert Macfarlane writes in Underland, when the earliest cave dwellers took a mouthful of ochre dust and blew it at their hand held up to a cave wall, they were telling a story. They were saying Remember me; I was here.
This summer will be “quiet” in the sense that we will be around the farm and I have a lot of work to do. I look forward to some naps in the hammock and late evening walks, otherwise we don’t have a lot of plans. The strawberry full moon occurs midweek, and the summer solstice is just around the corner. June is here so soon, but I am more than ready for summer to begin. You have my full permission to rest and do the things that renew your spirit throughout this upcoming season. I think we all need a lot of that right about now.
**NEW CLASS**
I will be teaching a new class at Hugo House next month. Join me online for this 4-session experience. I look forward to meeting you and thinking (and feeling) more deeply about our place on this Earth together. Register here.
**REGISTRATION OPEN**
Also, enrollment for my yearlong writing group is open and we have a great group forming. Consider joining us to kickstart a project or find accountability and support for your journey as a writer. Get your story on the page! More info here. Feel free to reach out with any questions.
xoJessica