Essays & Stories

"What's the news, what's the story" is a question that comes from journalism, and it's something I used to share with my college students when it comes to finding the meaning in their writing. 

Findi...

The new year buzz has come and gone, and if you're like a lot of people, you're wondering what happened to your fire, your joie de vivre, your ole get up and go.

Maybe you slid into a damp January. M...

I’m not sure who decided that fall should be synonymous with gratitude. I mean, sure, there’s Thanksgiving—the national holiday of giving thanks. And despite its ungracious origins, many families, ...

It was an ordinary day in 1980, and for reasons only five year olds understand, I was dragging a stick and walking in aimless circles around our little house on Campground Road. One moment I was medit...

Leaving town is more than trip planning. It’s absence planning.

When I landed two hours before Kyle at the Houston airport by way of Salt Lake City by way of Portland, Oregon, I wasn’t just at the ri...