My Personal Creative Nonfiction
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‘I’m Nobody.’ You Too?
One of the most interesting tidbits to emerge from my recent dabbling in genealogy is the revelation that Emily Dickinson is my sixth cousin. A few times removed, yes, but we’re cousins, nevertheless. Now that I’ve made this discovery, I feel as if my life finally makes sense. It makes sense that I spent all those hours… Continue reading
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Am I Just Painting This Old Wagon Blue?
I don’t remember if I taught him the song or if he taught it to me. But one summer, Grandpap Swayne and I sang, Little red wagon painted blue…, as we played dominoes, painted by numbers, and watched cartoons on TV. When I was a child, Mother and I traveled from our home in Richmond, Virginia, to… Continue reading
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My Father’s Heart
During the final year of his life, my father did everything right. By following a strict diet, he lost weight. He exercised daily and avoided stress. He rekindled the romance in his marriage. He looked and seemed to feel healthy. Then one summer morning, a neighbor discovered him lying unconscious on the ground in our… Continue reading
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I Just Met My Sister, and Now We’re on a Road Trip Together
My sister drives confidently over the rollercoaster hills and hairpin curves along the road through Cameron. She’s a born West Virginian. The town clings to a slope of the Allegheny range’s shamrock green mountains. Its thousand or so inhabitants shelter themselves in humble houses perched on rough ridges or squatting in ravines. We are here to visit… Continue reading
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The Curious Case of the Very Fit Facebook Lady
She inhabits my Facebook newsfeed. Claiming to be in her 70s, she posts daily Reels showing herself performing vigorous exercises — step aerobics, weight lifting, advanced yoga asanas, or some combination of the three. Anyone who takes only a brief look at her videos might assume she is in her 20s. In fact, many 20-year-olds… Continue reading
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Dad Would Have Liked Her Better
An email alerted me that my DNA analysis report was ready to view. When I logged on to Ancestry.com and clicked on my DNA matches, there she was. The first person on my list of matches surprised me. I expected to see an aunt or cousin listed there—someone I knew. The first entry, however, was… Continue reading
Do you write about yourself and your experiences? Do you write about traumatic events in your life? Or, do you struggle to find time and motivation to write?
If so, this blog is for you.
Person on the Page 