It’s a difficult question Joel. Thank you for asking. It puts me in a dilemma, a pickle, a tight spot, a predicament, a quandary. And now I’m just stalling.
To name just one author. Just one to give the utmost of your gratitude to. You knew what this would do to me, didn’t you Joel Miller? You sneaky bugger. Touche. Score one for you.
There are so many. So many to pick from. So many to choose. So many that came to mind. That came to me. Each at various places and at various times. At various times we might call pivotal. Pivotal points in my development. In my various hours of need. When they found me in my unspeakable states and they spoke to me. But, you knew that already, didn't you Joel Miler? A clever ruse.
There are books that changed everything for me. Bukowski’s Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame was the first one to teach me the truth of poetry. To show me what words could do. What they could be. What they could mean. But, you knew that already too, didn’t you Joel Miller? I’ve mentioned it before. You’ve got a good memory. But that’s not my answer.
Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis and
’s The Sacredness of Questioning Everything, altered my entire trajectory when I read them. made me want to be a better writer. Anthony Bourdain showed me how good of a friend a book could be. Did you guess any of those Joel Miller? Maybe, maybe. Some I’m sure I’ve mentioned. Some I don’t talk about much any more. Even if you did, it’s not any of those.There’s one I return to over and over. One I come back to again and again.The one that always tells me the ugly, beautiful, venerable, and profane truth about life, love, art, mystery, wonder, hope, and almost everything in between. The one that always recalibrates me. That reconciles me. That welcomes me back after I’ve been lost and away for far too long. That reminds me what writing is for and how it’s done. Little by little. Bird by bird. Openly. Hopefully. Honestly. That tells that what the holiest part of our humanity is. Our fucked-up-ness. Our broken bits. Even our stubbornness. Our small victories. It all fits, eventually. The one that reminded me of something recently. The most powerful words in our language can be simplified to three. Help, Thanks, and Wow. Vulnerability, gratitude, and rapture.
Anne Lamott, today I’m grateful for you. I don’t know where I’d be without you.
And
, thanks for asking, thanks for helping, thanks for wowing me.Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Thanks for reading! I don’t keep anything behind a paywall, but I do offer a paid option if you’d like to support the newsletter. Or, you can throw something in my digital tip jar and Buy Me a Coffee. No matter what, I appreciate you being here!
Absolutely love this piece. Bird by Bird is probably my favourite book on writing - thank you for the tips! ☺️
Anne Lamott. That totally makes sense. I read Traveling Mercies and Plan B at just the right times. Thanks for the reminder!