This is so good. And mildly terrifying. I very much like the idea of the question "what makes you whole"--especially as I'm coming off an eight-month period in which I tackled a handful of different athletic challenges and am now wondering about the next goal. Maybe it's not a goal at all, but this other as-yet identified thing that makes me whole. But the second question--what do you want to do before you die, if you died tomorrow--is kind of terrifying. Sure, it's in our interest to remember we're mortal! But it's not a question I'm comfortable confronting head on--which doesn't mean I won't try to!
The other thing I wanted to say is that I happen to run a writing workshop in a place that's killer for trail running, in northern Greece, and there's always at least one memoirist in the group, hint hint.
Thank you, this means so much coming from you—a novelist and runner I admire! Please send me info or a link to your retreat. I already committed to one for 2024 (Jennifer Louden's) but I typically do a retreat/camp roundup early in the year to encourage readers to consider one.
Sarah, I really appreciate your honest, thoughtful writing. Thank you for sharing. I do think about how the pandemic brought our collective focus into the present, Professionally, I’m trying to grow and be a great leader to my team (most are much younger). I enjoy being a mentor. In my personal life, giving back and being present in my relationships are what I consider my most fulfilling goals. Big bucket ultras and exploring new natural places is a passion. I want to be able to continue to go at life like a great adventure while being a good human. Thanks again for sharing and best of luck with your memoir.
Yesss you know I’m here for this! I have always loved your words and stories, and I cannot WAIT to read your memoir.
For what it’s worth, I signed up for a yearlong memoir class (which met virtually once a week for two hours) through Hugo House in Seattle, and I found that having that structure and accountability really helped me stay motivated and making forward progress on my manuscript. I’d been working on bits and pieces of it for many years, but basically started over with a blank slate at the beginning of my class (Sept. 2021) and had an 85,000 word rough draft complete by June 2022. (Revisions have taken me twice as long 😭, in part because I no longer have the accountability of a weekly writing class.)
In any case, I’m so excited for you, and if you have any interest in a memoir accountability buddy, let me know. 😊
Great post. There was back in the day an uplifting poem/video about Covid but I couldn’t find it. My Covid experience was a little different as I experienced it from inside the ER and yes it was terrifying. That first year I didn’t really see anyone but coworkers. My long term partner had a 97 year old mother so we only visited from a distance, and family stayed away completely. Still either way it certainly was cause for a pause and reevaluation of what’s really important. I would totally read your memoir if you chose to publish. ❤️
Perhaps a bit late to this discussion - but alas! I truly loved what you poured out in this post. You untangled so many of the vexing challenges of this time of reflection, resetting and planning.
I am in awe of how you see the world. It’s something remarkable that you are able to bring your experiences to life and connect the dots and details in a way that brings clarity and meaning... maybe that’s just part of being a good writer, :) of the variety to paint so vividly herein.
I also really love this: “he is too busy getting things done—throwing himself fully into developing ideas and completing tasks—to bother with goals or concern himself with self-improvement.”
I’d like to do more of that! ^^ with a North Star. Less intellectualizing and thinking, more doing, more action.
Can’t wait to read your beautiful memoir, whenever it is so.
Courtney, you made my day! (And it took me a minute to realize it's YOU because I am not familiar with the last name you use here vs. the one on you use for registering for races...) Thank you so very much. I have had your podcast interview with the Running Problems show queued up but haven't pushed play yet, perhaps because I am waiting for a time with full attention and full heart to hear you talk about Teddy. But I will listen on my next long run or quiet long drive. Thank you for reading my newsletter and for your encouraging support. Hope you and your daughter have a wonderful holiday and ski season making moguls look so rhythmic and easy, and I hope to run with you somewhere/sometime in the new year.
Thank you for this, for those questions... they are a better phrasing of things I've been thinking about a lot over the past few years. And your description of where you are in relation to those questions matches my own situation rather closely, to the point where I have actively been concluding some obligations and turning down some new opportunities, in the interest of focusing on memoir in 2024.
(A resource I've found helpful, and that has me feeling excited and optimistic about the project, is "The Art of Memoir" by Marion Roach Smith — I just checked my Readwise: I have 55 highlights saved from it.)
This is terrific. Kudos to you for not only making the decision to finally write the memoir I know you’ve had in mind for some time now, but also for announcing your intention so publicly. That will keep you accountable. 🙂
If i may recommend a book with a different approach to a memoir: The Years, by Annie Ernaux. It combines private and public, personal and shared history, micro and macro. I found it very touching and inspiring! Might be that to you also!
Yep! But Unlike some other nobelists, this is also readable 😉. She appreciates history, which you do also, and maybe also a certain sadness when seeing valuable things disappear from memory.
Ok, I’m both touched and emotionally moved by this article Sarah. Out of all the incredible poignant pieces you’ve written, I feel so connected to this one. It’s absolutely fantastic that you are writing a memoir! Congratulations on reaching your goal of 2,000 subscribers!
This is all so exciting, Sarah! I relate to much of what you’ve shared here. Here’s to a beautiful year of writing ahead! I look forward to hearing more as your journey continues! 🤍
I love these questions! I've never been a big resolution-maker, but these are really interesting ways to frame potential shifts. Looking forward to pondering them over the next few weeks and beyond.
And exciting news about planning to work on a memoir! I'm looking forward to hearing more about that process, and to eventually reading it. (And if you need a copyedit along the way, I'd love to chat!)
Sarah, bravo to you for committing to your writing! Can’t wait to see what you do with this memoir project. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!
This is so good. And mildly terrifying. I very much like the idea of the question "what makes you whole"--especially as I'm coming off an eight-month period in which I tackled a handful of different athletic challenges and am now wondering about the next goal. Maybe it's not a goal at all, but this other as-yet identified thing that makes me whole. But the second question--what do you want to do before you die, if you died tomorrow--is kind of terrifying. Sure, it's in our interest to remember we're mortal! But it's not a question I'm comfortable confronting head on--which doesn't mean I won't try to!
The other thing I wanted to say is that I happen to run a writing workshop in a place that's killer for trail running, in northern Greece, and there's always at least one memoirist in the group, hint hint.
Thank you, this means so much coming from you—a novelist and runner I admire! Please send me info or a link to your retreat. I already committed to one for 2024 (Jennifer Louden's) but I typically do a retreat/camp roundup early in the year to encourage readers to consider one.
Happy to include the link here. It's www.krounawritingworkshop.com, and you'll find all the info there. Thanks! And maybe we'll grab you for 2025!
Your workshop looks amazing!
Sarah, I really appreciate your honest, thoughtful writing. Thank you for sharing. I do think about how the pandemic brought our collective focus into the present, Professionally, I’m trying to grow and be a great leader to my team (most are much younger). I enjoy being a mentor. In my personal life, giving back and being present in my relationships are what I consider my most fulfilling goals. Big bucket ultras and exploring new natural places is a passion. I want to be able to continue to go at life like a great adventure while being a good human. Thanks again for sharing and best of luck with your memoir.
Yesss you know I’m here for this! I have always loved your words and stories, and I cannot WAIT to read your memoir.
For what it’s worth, I signed up for a yearlong memoir class (which met virtually once a week for two hours) through Hugo House in Seattle, and I found that having that structure and accountability really helped me stay motivated and making forward progress on my manuscript. I’d been working on bits and pieces of it for many years, but basically started over with a blank slate at the beginning of my class (Sept. 2021) and had an 85,000 word rough draft complete by June 2022. (Revisions have taken me twice as long 😭, in part because I no longer have the accountability of a weekly writing class.)
In any case, I’m so excited for you, and if you have any interest in a memoir accountability buddy, let me know. 😊
Thank you! I will definitely reach out to you when I'm ready to share some drafts...
People reading this—check out Yitka's new Substack Runners Who Write! https://runnerswhowrite.substack.com/
Great post. There was back in the day an uplifting poem/video about Covid but I couldn’t find it. My Covid experience was a little different as I experienced it from inside the ER and yes it was terrifying. That first year I didn’t really see anyone but coworkers. My long term partner had a 97 year old mother so we only visited from a distance, and family stayed away completely. Still either way it certainly was cause for a pause and reevaluation of what’s really important. I would totally read your memoir if you chose to publish. ❤️
Thank you
so much here relatable and so good as always Sarah! can't wait for the memoir!
Thanks for reading and for your encouragement!
Perhaps a bit late to this discussion - but alas! I truly loved what you poured out in this post. You untangled so many of the vexing challenges of this time of reflection, resetting and planning.
I am in awe of how you see the world. It’s something remarkable that you are able to bring your experiences to life and connect the dots and details in a way that brings clarity and meaning... maybe that’s just part of being a good writer, :) of the variety to paint so vividly herein.
I also really love this: “he is too busy getting things done—throwing himself fully into developing ideas and completing tasks—to bother with goals or concern himself with self-improvement.”
I’d like to do more of that! ^^ with a North Star. Less intellectualizing and thinking, more doing, more action.
Can’t wait to read your beautiful memoir, whenever it is so.
Courtney, you made my day! (And it took me a minute to realize it's YOU because I am not familiar with the last name you use here vs. the one on you use for registering for races...) Thank you so very much. I have had your podcast interview with the Running Problems show queued up but haven't pushed play yet, perhaps because I am waiting for a time with full attention and full heart to hear you talk about Teddy. But I will listen on my next long run or quiet long drive. Thank you for reading my newsletter and for your encouraging support. Hope you and your daughter have a wonderful holiday and ski season making moguls look so rhythmic and easy, and I hope to run with you somewhere/sometime in the new year.
Really great stuff.
Thank you for this, for those questions... they are a better phrasing of things I've been thinking about a lot over the past few years. And your description of where you are in relation to those questions matches my own situation rather closely, to the point where I have actively been concluding some obligations and turning down some new opportunities, in the interest of focusing on memoir in 2024.
(A resource I've found helpful, and that has me feeling excited and optimistic about the project, is "The Art of Memoir" by Marion Roach Smith — I just checked my Readwise: I have 55 highlights saved from it.)
Good for you Jeff!
This is terrific. Kudos to you for not only making the decision to finally write the memoir I know you’ve had in mind for some time now, but also for announcing your intention so publicly. That will keep you accountable. 🙂
Thank you! I hope you don’t mind if I hit you up to be a reader of drafts again :-).
I’m at your disposal. 😊
If i may recommend a book with a different approach to a memoir: The Years, by Annie Ernaux. It combines private and public, personal and shared history, micro and macro. I found it very touching and inspiring! Might be that to you also!
Thank you! I just looked it up and see it won the Nobel.
Yep! But Unlike some other nobelists, this is also readable 😉. She appreciates history, which you do also, and maybe also a certain sadness when seeing valuable things disappear from memory.
Ok, I’m both touched and emotionally moved by this article Sarah. Out of all the incredible poignant pieces you’ve written, I feel so connected to this one. It’s absolutely fantastic that you are writing a memoir! Congratulations on reaching your goal of 2,000 subscribers!
I love this goal. Writing alongside you!
This is all so exciting, Sarah! I relate to much of what you’ve shared here. Here’s to a beautiful year of writing ahead! I look forward to hearing more as your journey continues! 🤍
I always try to make family goals for my husband and kids too, lol. Someone has got to keep these people healthy!
Good luck on your memoir - I'm excited to be tuned in as it progresses.
I love these questions! I've never been a big resolution-maker, but these are really interesting ways to frame potential shifts. Looking forward to pondering them over the next few weeks and beyond.
And exciting news about planning to work on a memoir! I'm looking forward to hearing more about that process, and to eventually reading it. (And if you need a copyedit along the way, I'd love to chat!)
Sarah, bravo to you for committing to your writing! Can’t wait to see what you do with this memoir project. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!
Thank you, that means so much. I loved how you put yourself and your personal struggles in your journalistic memoir, and how you connected your ancestors' stories to your own. People reading this—read Erika's book "Windfall: The Prairie Woman Who Lost Her Way and the Great Granddaughter Who Found Her" https://bookshop.org/p/books/windfall-the-prairie-woman-who-lost-her-way-and-the-great-granddaughter-who-found-her-erika-bolstad/18349410