Segullah

Mormon women blogging about the peculiar and the treasured

Splendid Isolation on Hinchinbrook

Day One “Welcome to Splendid Isolation,” says the large wooden sign posted over the dock. As our boat slows to a stop, I get my first up-close look at Hinchinbrook, the island just a couple of miles away from the Great Barrier Reef where my husband, our four children, and I will be spending the [...]

I Write?

I accidentally wore my Segullah t-shirt to the bank last week. “So you’re a writer,” the banker said. Dang, I forgot I was wearing that shirt. “Um, yeah,” I said (my brilliant way with words already obvious). “What do you write?” he asked. Dang again, why do people always ask that? “Creative non-fiction,” I said, [...]

The Art of the Essay: An Interview with Patrick Madden

I recently reviewed a fascinating collection of essays called Quotidiana, written by author and BYU professor Patrick Madden. Such an interesting conversation with Pat ensued in the comments that I thought it would be a great idea to invite him back and interview him on the topic. Here at Segullah, we’re particularly interested in the [...]

Leaving notes

Recently I chanced upon an article about a dad who has written daily letters to his two children. Robert Guest has been getting up at dawn every school day for the past 15 years to write a note to each of his two children, resulting in thousands of notes later collected from lunchboxes and pockets. [...]

Writing is Scary. But We’re Not. So Come to the Segullah Writing Retreat!

Here’s the truth: Every time I sit down at my computer to write, I’m a little bit afraid. Afraid that the words won’t come like I want them to. Afraid that the mysterious yawning emptiness of the story will swallow me whole. Afraid that I’m kidding myself, that this story (essay, poem) is a waste [...]

Patrick Madden’s Quotidiana: A Review

A few pages into BYU English professor Patrick Madden’s collection of essays, Quotidiana, he describes what his graduate study of the essay form taught him: “I learned that essays were not stories, did not focus on great adventures or recoveries, were not extraordinary in their subject matter at all. Essayists are keen observers of the [...]

Warning! Poetry!

I would hugely appreciate such a warning, as I am incredibly wary of poems. They are dangerous, wily creatures that lie in ambush, lurking stealthily beneath words in my personal scary wilderness. Seemingly restful and innocent, luring me in closer to the stunning flourishes, the polished simplicity, the sweetness of gentle phrases, incredibly lovely to [...]

Spring is in the air . . .

… and here at Segullah we’re turning over new leaves left and right. This morning we’re launching our new blog format, courtesy of genius web artist Johnna Cornett. And that’s just the beginning. Spring 2010 marks our forum’s 5th anniversary, and we’re excited to celebrate! Check out our freshly designed journal site, which includes a [...]

If I should die (and you should live)…

5:30 a.m., the alarm rings. I slap my hair into messy pigtails, throw on a neon-yellow technical shirt, leggings, and my running shoes, and strap on an anklet. I’m not much of an accessorizer, especially before sunrise, but I don’t wear the anklet because it’s cute; it’s a Road ID, so if I collapse on [...]

Transformation Narratives: Your Life As Story

One there was a… And one day … And because of this… And she realized… And she decided… And ever since then…  A few months ago at a professional conference (for Child Llife Specialists) one session was about therapeutic uses of transformation narratives. Pairing “journey” stories with children to help mirror the life-changing events related to [...]

O Remember, Remember

About a month ago one of our ward missionaries sent me an email explaining that they are getting ready to launch a missionary blog and asking if I would write down my conversion story for them to post. I agreed, and though I haven’t started writing it yet, I’ve been thinking a lot about it [...]

I’d Write Creative Nonfiction If I Knew What the Heck It Was

Note: This piece is a discussion of the literary genre of the personal essay. While I’ve posted it here on a blog, what I’ve written is not a good example of the genre of the blog post. For one, it’s waaaaaay too long. Hope you enjoy it anyway. One of the things we want to [...]

Dating. Courtship. Marriage.

Dating.  Courtship.  Marriage. How do you get there, and once you do, what do you do then?  What is it like when it’s good?  What is it like when it’s hard?  How do you keep it together?  What do you do when it falls apart?  How do you go it alone?  We want to know.  [...]

Therapy Dogs

I know that I’ve put up a lot of posts about my son and his disabilities, and I appreciate the indulgence of all our readers as I work through my struggles.  This post however, is more of a writing exercise than an analysis of my current situation.  Brittney Carman gave an excellent writing workshop at [...]

Beach Baby

(So, I wanted to write something profound and thought-provoking, a topic that would get me, say, 159 comments. Or something fun and light and witty. But we’re in the tenth week of summer vacation and I lost my brain somewhere in week three. All I can think about is the beach, since we haven’t been [...]

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