I was desperate – locked in place and frustrated. No book hacks, self-help podcasts, or personal commitments could shake me free from the years-long rut that clung to my life like a hoe dragging through tough soil. There were things I couldn’t do anymore – not...
I am growing. I feel it in my thoughts and actions. I can’t say that I’ve always welcomed it, because its come from difficult challenges, but I can’t deny the results. And in acceptance I wonder if this growth is exactly what is needed for what’s ahead. I know it is....
In the twilight hours of a Saturday morning I raged at God, calling him an unyielding bitch. I told him that I didn’t care that his ways are greater than mine; I didn’t give a fuck about his ways. I wanted what I wanted. I wanted my niece to live. Twenty miles north...
I slept on a velour futon couch for six months. The sofa was located inside a 1994 Ford A-class motorhome. You know the kind—one of those bus type vehicles with a massive picture window at the front that you see driving down the interstate with a pair of retired folk...
Hello. Hi there. How was your summer? You may have noticed (or you may not have) but I disappeared for a short time. Did you miss me? It’s okay, I missed you too! But it was summer, after all, and all three of my adorable, all-consuming children were home from school....
Okay, okay. In my opinion, y’all crushed the Title Quest! Thank you to those who sent me a title (or a few) to consider for my book. Two of you even dropped my book details into an AI chat and got some really good and interesting results, which is something I would...
All of the titles I’ve offered for my book are “Meh. Sorry”. All of them. Like, my brain dump of every good title that I can think so far of for my memoir are just meh? Okay, fine. I don’t have an ego about this. I don’t have to be the title queen (but ALL of...
Sweet relief. I am feeling good. I can clearly see that I am not a troll. It’s obvious. Look at how bright I am! Then I browse through drafts of entries I wrote last month in a plateau—a familiar descent—and think, “Ew, Ashley. What’s with all the stiff...
“We should do a playdate!” The cheerful red-headed woman said brightly, cornering me at pre-school pick up. “My daughter just loves your daughter Primrose.” I knew what she said was true because everyone loved my daughter Primrose, and Primrose loved...
I’m struggling to think of what to say. I’ve made commitments–to myself, to my family, to my nonprofit, to my book. Have I just opened another can of worms that I don’t have the capacity to manage by starting a Substack? The easy thing to do would be to skip this...
Write first, then you can shower. That was the incentive I gave myself just now, to sit down and type. I projected myself into the future post-shower version of me; clean and warm and ready to disappear into a book on this overcast and rainy day, soaking up and...
So here we are. I’ve written a book. The next steps? Finish the book proposal→ Pitch it to literary agents→ Agent pitches it to publishers→ Edit, design, print, and market. The 105,000-word book is about my journey from the thought of running across America for my...
You’d be surprised at how easy it is to hide within a charity. I know this because I founded one in 2009. I was rather young and audacious enough to believe I could make a difference, while being naive to the amount of work involved in fighting the illness that caused...