Hello dear subscribers!

Happy winter solstice! As promised, here is the link to my 2020-2021 Wintering Calendar. It is kind of a modern day liturgical season, made up by me over the course of several years, with twelve significant dates marking the passing of the winter and the returning of the warmth and light.

I have been posting this in some form or another on Facebook for several years, but this year I’m adding a short reflection for each of the twelve dates, with quotes from poets, musicians, and The Farmer’s Almanac, as well as further resources and reading.

I created this as a special gift to subscribers, but I might share it with other folks too, if you all don’t mind. It feels like the wrong time to hide any kind of light under a bushel. But as subscribers, you will be the first to know when each new reflection goes up.

I hope you’ll join me over at the Wintering Calendar today, for the winter solstice reflection.

Love,
Jessica

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A few other notes:

Both my books are now available wherever books are sold.  You can order both The Long Night: Readings and Stories to Help You through Depression, and 365 Days of Peace: Benedictions to End Your Day in Gentleness and Hope on Bookshop, where they will donate a percentage of the cost to brick and mortar, independent bookstores, or you can find a bookstore near you that carries then on IndieBound. They are up at Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Powell’s, Amazon, and loads of other places! You can also request them from your local library.

My latest piece is up at the Madeleine L’Engle blog. I wrote about the fascinating correspondence between Madeleine L’Engle and Dr. Ahmad Rahman, and the winners of the PEN America Prison and Justice Writing Program award it inspired. You might especially be interested in the dramatic reading of some of their letters, performed by Madeleine’s granddaughter, Charlotte Jones Voiklis, and the actor Eric Berryman.

I am (nervously) planning another virtual stick-figure gathering like the one I did on Thanksgiving. The gathering will start on Twitter at noon EST on December 24th. I got some poster board so I will have more room to draw us all in! I’m equally nervous that no one will show up, and that thousands of people will show up again. Sharpening my pencils and brewing coffee in anticipation. Follow me on Twitter to join in!

I sometimes post short essays on Instagram and Facebook, so follow me there for pieces like this one on going to the wrong building for my post-op appointment.

In love, hope, and peace,
Jessica