Segullah

Mormon women blogging about the peculiar and the treasured

Perfect People Not Allowed

A few weeks before Christmas I drove past a cozy-looking Protestant church in my neighborhood. I noticed a colorful banner staked into the ground — “Perfect people not allowed!” it read — and I felt a yearning tug in my heart. It had been a tiring month, emotionally and physically, and the idea of walking [...]

A Good Book for Christmas

One of my favorite gifts to give (and get) at Christmastime is a good book. Although I realize that the more organized among us have already finished their Christmas shopping, I’m guessing some of you are like me and still have some holiday scrambling to do. I’m hoping that I can share some of my [...]

Mormon Lit Blitz Call for Submissions

Segullah is not a sponsor of the following literary contest, but we’re more than happy to spread the word. If you have a killer 1,000 words? Send ‘em in! It might win you a Kindle. And Mormon literary fame. CALL FOR CONTEST SUBMISSIONS Now announcing the first ever Mormon Lit Blitz Writing Contest. Send up [...]

Early Morning Seminary

I’ve been teaching early morning seminary for a few months now, and so far I’ve learned a few things: 1-I truly believed before I started teaching that I could get all my prep work done if I gave myself an hour a day. I look back on those innocent days of summer, and I laugh [...]

Boo Humbug

For many many years, I was ashamed to admit this, ashamed that it would reveal me as a party pooper or (worse) an uptight reactionary or (even worse) a selfish adult who can’t enjoy a holiday that’s mostly geared toward children (except when it’s geared toward grown women wearing “sassy” Minnie Mouse costumes, or, you [...]

An Offender for a Word

Many years ago, a woman I visit taught asked to have me removed as her visiting teacher. I shouldn’t have known about this, of course — the visiting teaching shuffle is almost always a hush hush affair, especially if specific requests for change are involved. But I had an inkling that my visiting teachee wasn’t [...]

Segullah’s Book Club Discussion: The Year My Son and I Were Born

Today for Segullah’s book club we are discussing The Year My Son and I Were Born, written by our very own Kathryn Lynard Soper. This memoir takes us through the first year of Kathy’s life with her son, Thomas, who was born with Down syndrome. Although the book takes as one of its subjects the [...]

Discussion Questions for The Year My Son and I Were Born

Tomorrow, Friday, August 26th, we will be discussing The Year My Son and I Were Born, written by our very own Kathryn Lynard Soper. This memoir takes us through the first year of Kathy’s life with her son, Thomas, who is born with Down syndrome. Although the book takes as one of its subjects the [...]

Postponing the Discussion of Kathy Soper’s The Year My Son and I Were Born

So the plan was to discuss our very own Kathy Soper’s fabulous memoir, The Year My Son and I Were Born, for our book club today. But summer has gotten away from me and now I find myself away from home on vacation, squeezing time between trips to the cabin and visits to the Bountiful [...]

Remembering Chieko Okazaki

Sister Chieko Okazaki, a beloved LDS leader, teacher, writer, and speaker, passed away on Monday, August 1st. She served as First Counselor to Relief Society President Elaine L. Jack from 1990 to 1997, but her influence was lifelong and wide-ranging. Chieko’s service in the General Relief Society presidency occurred during a particularly formative time in [...]

The Tyranny of Stuff

A quick reminder: Segullah’s book club will be discussing The Year My Son and I Were Born by our own Kathryn Lynard Soper next month, on Thursday August 18th, so get reading! Now on to the post. Over the last few weeks, the stuff I own has been stressing me out to a particularly lamentable [...]

Mormons, Mormons Everywhere

When I moved to Minnesota in 1998, a number of my new Midwestern friends and acquaintances saw my Mormonism as a curiosity. Many of the people I met had never known a Mormon “in real life” before, and a few held some interesting misconceptions. A woman in my MFA program assumed I had left the [...]

Book Club Discussion: Room by Emma Donoghue

First, my apologies! Even though this is completely embarrassing to admit, yesterday (Thursday, the day we were supposed to discuss this novel) I spent the entire day thinking it was Wednesday. I’m blaming it on the end of the school year. So forgive me for not having this discussion up and ready to go. Now, [...]

Book Club Reminder: Room by Emma Donoghue Next Thursday

Segullah’s book club will be discussing Room by Emma Donoghue next Thursday, May 19th. It’s a relatively quick read, so if you can get your hands on a copy you still have time to finish the novel and join us. Below you’ll find a quick plot summary, borrowed from Amazon.com. I’ve also included a few [...]

On Having It All

*A quick reminder before I begin: Segullah’s book club will be discussing Emma Donoghue’s novel Room on May 19th. You have plenty of time to read (right?). Please join us!* My first baby was born on August 27th—the first day of school in the Jordan School District. Since I was a high school English teacher [...]

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