What a gift it is to ourselves to let go of the self-focused loop of personal reflection. It gives spirit to whatever room we’re in no matter what the conditions, and no matter what the restrictions.

If we’re going to curate our lives — as we all should, actively — the energy we surround ourselves with, the food we eat or the way we move, heal, grieve, contribute, or create — we need to switch on.

For our third conversation, Helena and I got testy about the same stuff—and there’s no camaraderie like that of shared testiness. As she says, and we are both aghast: “We’re demonizing the asking of questions…”

Helena casts a spell that entrances you into being brave and share things you didn’t mean to share, but that have been monumentally formative. I say more than I mean to, and we play. That’s Tankespjärn.

Helena gently teases out still-simmering thoughts. Lately, it’s how my changing context shifts my take on grief, identity, resilience. It’s so tectonic I wish I could rewrite or amend Notes for the Everlost…

This interview with fellow author Catherine Austen is on creating tension and the process of writing, featuring me and four other writers who, happily, echo my difficulty with first-draft momentum. A golden series!

Ed Hart and I talk about the curious wilderness of post-loss faith; how we can help our kids move through an uncertain world; and why creativity can save us. Ed is a Christian, and we wandered into spiritual territory, a first for me in-conversation.