Making Art, Making Cake, Making Love

Let the sunshine in
Photographer: Carl Jackson 

I'm excited to tell you that I have three pieces in the Michigan Quarterly Review. It's a special themed issue titled "Caregiving." I'm in pretty darn august company, including Suzanne Edison and Heather Kirn Lanier. The review has categorized my work as "poetry," but between you and me, they are really prose poems or fragments that appear in my larger manuscript.  You can order a paper copy or download a PDF for $10. There's some amazing stuff in there, and let's hear it for supporting the work and art of caregivers. I recently sent about 180 pages to an editor. I have about 3/4 of the first draft revised and am determined to get the last quarter done by the end of the month. The publication in Michigan Quarterly Review is such an honor —I've probably sent out ten things over the last couple of years and have had all rejections, so this gives me that extra kick in the ass that I need.

Maybe I'll have a book published before I turn eighty but probably not before the Disunited States turns from plutocracy to autocracy.

I guess we have to just keep doing the work. Making art, making cake, making love.

In other news, my fellow co-host and friend Jason Lehmbeck and I had the most profound discussion with two women on the Who Lives Like This?! podcast. Jennifer Siedman and Blyth Taylor Lord spoke to us about their own families and lives, about palliative care, bereavement and the remarkable organization Courageous Parents Network.  Even if you aren't a caregiver, you must listen to it. I beg you to listen to it. Please share the link, too. Remember: we're making art, making cake, making love.

Here's the link.

What are you up to, Reader?

MQR 57|4 Fall 2018

It's a Health Insurance Miracle!

When my podcast partner, Jason Lehmbeck, heard about what happened last week with The Blue Shield of California first denying and then mysteriously covering Sophie's infusions of IVIG, he said, "It's an insurance miracle!" and somehow that one remark not only sent me into a gale of giggles but has sustained me ever since. That's the beauty of our community and of my partner -- he gets me, I get him and we get all of ya'll.

We recorded a catch-up podcast last week and hope that if you haven't yet checked out Who Lives Like This?! you will today. Jason and I didn't have a guest on but rather caught each other and our listeners up on what's been going down in our lives. We talked about our kids and highlighted The Siblings. We also hashed out which episodes had most affected us or that stuck out for us personally. For me it was the discussion with Josh Fyman, a father of a severely disabled young girl and his family's decision to place her in a residential setting instead of caring for her at home. This is a topic that has always made me squirm in discomfort. I have strong opinions, as you know, and I thought I felt pretty unequivocally about this subject. What happened, over the course of the podcast and then for weeks afterward, was a kind of mind and heart opening. I don't know how to explain it in any other way, but I do know that Josh and Jason and I talked about what seems like an impossible thing to talk about, and my heart and my mind were opened. That's all I'll say about that, but I encourage you to listen to the podcast.



If you're so inclined, please consider supporting our podcast through the Patreon link at the top of the webpage. We are building a community and need the support! And if YOU'd like to be a guest or hear about a certain topic or from a certain person, please let us know! You can leave a comment here or on the Facebook page or blog.

Elena Hung and Little Lobbyists on WhoTF Lives Like This?! Podcast

That's Elena Hung and her young daughter Xiomara. They are powerful women, and you have the chance to hear all about the work they are doing to improve the lives of children with complex medical needs. You'll also hear about how Elena does what she does -- she's an immigration lawyer, a mother, a caregiver and the founder of Little Lobbyists.

Please listen to our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts or click on the button on the accompanying blog by going here:

WhoTF Lives Like This?!

Check back on Mondays for new podcasts -- Jason and I have so many to share with you! I hope that you'll share the links with others, too.

The Grit and Grace of Caregiving

My friend and fellow caregiver, Jason Lehmbeck, and I have launched our passion project, a podcast about and for caregivers of children and young adults with special healthcare needs and disabilities. It's called WhoTF Lives Like This?! and is available anywhere you listen to podcasts. We've been working on this for more than six months, and I am just so excited to tell you about it. We'll be interviewing the most amazing people who do the most amazing things with their lives -- both publicly and privately. We'll be talking to men and women who care for their children with special healthcare needs and disabilities, to siblings and to those who support us -- the doctors, educators, therapists, etc. working to help and make our lives and the lives of our children better.

I hope you'll subscribe to the podcast, check in regularly at the website to learn about the guests, interact with us on our Facebook page and in the comment section or otherwise get in touch with your suggestions and ideas. If you'd like to be a guest, you know where to find me!

You can listen to the teaser which gives you a good idea of what we'll be doing on the podcast, and we've also launched the first episode where Jason and I interview one another in much the same format that we will be using going forward.

Please help us to share this resource with all those who might be interested. This is a podcast for everyone. While the podcast pays particular attention to the lives of caregivers, their grit and grace is relevant to all human beings, and just like we have found, our work with and love for these most vulnerable of our fellow humans will expand your own heart and view of the world.

You can access the podcast at our website HERE.

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