This is Mourning Pages, a newsletter about writing, grief, academia, ghosts, and the creative life.
There is so much to discuss, so much mourning to do, in the midst of building a writing life and keeping the family fed. Writing helps. Stories save us when we need them the most.
*Image by Janelia Mould
Since this newsletter is a new endeavor (one that I’m VERY excited about), I will not try to overwhelm you or myself with outlandish goals. That’s a thing I do, by the way. Ask me later about my colorful but useless spreadsheets and to-do lists.
Find me here twice a month or weekly for paid subscribers. Subscribe either way. Substack emails, I’ve found, are like a little sliver of sunshine, a thing to look forward to savoring.
Grief comes in so many forms and, I’ve found, sits well beside art and poetry, laughter and love letters. I can’t wait to explore every bit of it inside these Mourning Pages.
Who am I?
I’m a writer and English professor, a Libra and a mom, a really good friend (if you don’t mind awkward silences and large bar tabs). The library is my happy place. I also like cats and waking up obscenely early to write. Maybe morning is my happy place.
The official bio stuff? I graduated from Notre Dame of Maryland University with a B.A in English and from West Virginia University with my M.F.A in Creative Writing (Fiction). My work has appeared in publications such as the Potomac Review, Pank, Iron Horse Literary Review, Baltimore City Paper, and Superstition Review. My debut novel, Doll Parts, is forthcoming from Sourcebooks in 2025.
You can find me online in so many places:
If you’d like to read some of my fiction, my story “How to Keep a Dead Woman Alive” is on Superstition Review, along with my process for writing the story, “Dress, Write, Mourn.”
My central themes have been there for a while is all I’m saying.
We’ll get into all the other interesting stories soon enough. Right now, I’m just glad you’re here. As Sister Corita Kent’s first “rule” for artists states, “Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for a while.”
I hope Mourning Pages is a place you can trust for a while.