Another great post! I love that book and also find it a tad creepy. That didn't prevent me from reading it to my son every night for 10 months tho! I mean: early motherhood is a lil' creepy so it felt on brand.
Thank you, Anna, for another generous and informative post. As an early childhood educator and nanny (in my former life!) I often read this book to little ones in my care and yet did not know anything about the author. Thank you for sharing a little of her story. And I love how your piece got extra exposure through LitHub. Just wonderful!
Nancy, this is so kind! I appreciate your kind words and encouragement very much. I have the paid subscription option turned off right now while I’m focusing on building up my readership as part of the pre-launch for my book. If you want to support me, I’d love it if you preordered my book, Famished: On Food, Sex, and Growing Up as a Good Girl. It should be out for preorder this week. I’m so grateful for you!
Question about pitching: if I published a piece with a magazine a few years ago and want to pitch the editor again now, should I write a new email or reply to our old thread of email exchanges from 3 years ago so she remembers me?
Great question! I don’t think either is wrong. I would probably compose a new email and reference our previous correspondence at the beginning of the email.
As always, I loved this window into your creative world, Anna! And I loved the piece itself too - especially what you've said about ritual being a crutch for some of us. Overreliance on routines (or being too rigid about them) is one of my "red flags" that I'm burning out and my mental health is in a slide.
Oh, thank you! And thank you for sharing how you relate. Yes — absolutely. The more burnt out/struggling I am, the more “disciplined” or rigid I become. It’s tricky, right, because that’s also something people tend to praise. Thanks for sharing that you personally understand
Adore this story of creative healing ❤️🩹 How a beloved author met despair with gratitude for the daily grounded details. How her ironic expression of joy killed her, and awakened you.
PS I happened to read Goodnight Moon twice yesterday to my dear friends’ 6 month old twins 👶🏻👶🏻 Twins do well with their mom’s rituals. We’ll see how freedom comes into play…
I did not know about Brown’s tragic death! Goodnight Moon is one of the board books from my boys’ childhood that I have tucked away in the closet “just in case” I ever have grandkids. Thanks for sharing this story of how it impacted your life!
Another great post! I love that book and also find it a tad creepy. That didn't prevent me from reading it to my son every night for 10 months tho! I mean: early motherhood is a lil' creepy so it felt on brand.
It’s absolutely a creepy book! Ha! (Creepy kids books are my favorites)
This is lovely! I love the way you breakdown the process for you and relate to it so much as a fellow journalist & creative writer! ✍️
I appreciate this so much — thank you!
Thank you, Anna, for another generous and informative post. As an early childhood educator and nanny (in my former life!) I often read this book to little ones in my care and yet did not know anything about the author. Thank you for sharing a little of her story. And I love how your piece got extra exposure through LitHub. Just wonderful!
Loved
Thank you!
This is so great, thank you for sharing, Anna :)
Thank you so much for reading!
The can can story is so weird...and tragic. But I did not know about the stamps! Must obtain!
Yes! I’m excited about the stamps :)
I’m always so grateful for your generosity in sharing your wisdom and experience!
I appreciate you so much, Joy — thank you!
Thank you, sweet, Anna. I loved the way your essay turned out. :) You were so wonderful to work with. - Elizabeth
I’m so grateful for all the care you showed toward me and this essay! It was wonderful working with you.
Thank you for this. I always appreciate your comments about the writing process. I’m eager to do a paid subscription. How? Sorry for being so stupid.
Nancy, this is so kind! I appreciate your kind words and encouragement very much. I have the paid subscription option turned off right now while I’m focusing on building up my readership as part of the pre-launch for my book. If you want to support me, I’d love it if you preordered my book, Famished: On Food, Sex, and Growing Up as a Good Girl. It should be out for preorder this week. I’m so grateful for you!
Scary, I just had surgery a week ago.
Question about pitching: if I published a piece with a magazine a few years ago and want to pitch the editor again now, should I write a new email or reply to our old thread of email exchanges from 3 years ago so she remembers me?
Great question! I don’t think either is wrong. I would probably compose a new email and reference our previous correspondence at the beginning of the email.
Thanks, Anna!
As always, I loved this window into your creative world, Anna! And I loved the piece itself too - especially what you've said about ritual being a crutch for some of us. Overreliance on routines (or being too rigid about them) is one of my "red flags" that I'm burning out and my mental health is in a slide.
Oh, thank you! And thank you for sharing how you relate. Yes — absolutely. The more burnt out/struggling I am, the more “disciplined” or rigid I become. It’s tricky, right, because that’s also something people tend to praise. Thanks for sharing that you personally understand
This is still one of my all-time favorite pieces! MWB is a guiding light to so many of us. Thanks for sharing the backstory on this piece.
I love happy rejection stories :)
Me too :) Thank you!
Love this backstory and I did not know the story of her death, wow.
Such a tragic, unsettling end. And thank you!
Adore this story of creative healing ❤️🩹 How a beloved author met despair with gratitude for the daily grounded details. How her ironic expression of joy killed her, and awakened you.
PS I happened to read Goodnight Moon twice yesterday to my dear friends’ 6 month old twins 👶🏻👶🏻 Twins do well with their mom’s rituals. We’ll see how freedom comes into play…
Thank you for your kind words! And absolutely — the rituals are the easy part. The freedom is when you need courage!
Now I need rituals for submitting my work so it no longer languishes in the bowels of my laptop
I did not know about Brown’s tragic death! Goodnight Moon is one of the board books from my boys’ childhood that I have tucked away in the closet “just in case” I ever have grandkids. Thanks for sharing this story of how it impacted your life!
Thank you for your kind words! I adore Goodnight Moon. I hope you can read it to your grandchildren one day :)