The Phoenix Spirit

I used to think I was the best judge of what would make me happy. That changed one auspicious day. All at once, my trusted car of 20 years died on an old country road, our tireless family computer gave up its friendly ghost, and a local vet sadly announced that our dream cat—Serenity—had just […]

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Nothing hurts quite as much as being ignored by a partner. It’s easy to understand why a loved one may not want to talk about personal things on a given day. After all, any of us can have a bad day or occasionally feel unwilling to share something intimate about ourselves until later. However, when […]

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Will Poulter in Union County / Photo provided by Oscilloscope Laboratories

The post Union County Doesn’t Flinch (And That’s the Point) first appeared on

When local artist Willard Malebear looks back on the trials of his early life of addiction and crime, and his current triumphs in recovery, which include recently garnering a prestigious Bush fellowship, he recalls a simple, yet clarifying, insight. “I believe what happened was I procrastinated being who I really am.” This moment of […]

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I never considered myself to be a poet. A writer, yes, but poetry, and creative writing in general, was not a medium that I was comfortable with. It meant sharing feelings with the world that I was just not ready to do. However, one cold, miserable December day changed all that. In the process of […]

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