Heartbreaking in its simplicity, Pieces of my Mother is Melissa Cistaro’s attempt to shed some much needed light on her dark past. Her mother—the woman who left her three children and her then-husband when Cistaro was a very small child—is dying, and Cistaro finds herself holding vigil at her bedside, desperate to connect with the… Read More Book Review: ‘Pieces of my Mother’ by Melissa Cistaro
In the third and final installment of The Dirt Diary series, we meet Ava—Rachel Lee’s alter ego of sorts. When Rachel’s Florida visit starts going sour, she turns to Ava to spice things us a little. For the trip which was supposed to be an occasion for her to catch up with her beloved Dad,… Read More Book Review and Guest Post: ‘The Gossip File’ by Anna Staniszewski
My previous post about journaling inspired a number of readers to share with me some of their profound, life-changing experiences related to the habit of putting pen to paper. But some of these conversations turned from serious to light hearted—and even silly—featuring some serious journal-and-pen fangirling. Most striking was how, across all these email threads,… Read More Journals and Pens, Oh My! Some Favourites
Straight off the heels of her week in Paris, Model Undercover: Stolen With Style follows sixteen year-old Axelle to the Big Apple where she has been asked to find a big black diamond that was stolen from a photo shoot. Although she has the connections—her aunt Venetia is the editor of a well-known fashion magazine… Read More Book Review: ‘Model Undercover: Stolen With Style’ by Carina Axelsson
The advantages of journaling have long been touted. On the scientific side, studies list its many health benefits. On the spiritual side, it can help us bring ourselves into account each day. There is also the sheer pleasure of putting pen to paper which might be linked to the number of beautiful journals (here, here,… Read More Journaling: Fleeing Mordor to Seek the Safety of the Shire
In a society driven mainly by scientific fact and logical reasoning, it’s nice to believe that perhaps magic does still exist. While believing in God and in the miracles of faith as experienced by believers of various denominations, it’s sometimes nice to read about a sort of magic that requires minimal effort. What can I… Read More Book Review: ‘The Dress Shop of Dreams,’ by Menna van Praag
Jurassic 5 rapper Marc 7’s debut solo album, Food Clothing & Shelter, which dropped in March of this year, is enjoyable, yet thought-provoking, angry at times, and always heartfelt. Born in New Jersey, Marc 7 moved at the age of 14 to California, perhaps the reason why the sounds of both east and west coast… Read More Music Review: Marc 7 (Jurassic 5) – ‘Food, Clothing & Shelter’
The lines between music genres are increasingly blurring, creating some great sounds that manage to be both familiar and new. New York’s Paul Maged joins the ranks of artists that claim to be blurring the lines, creating a unique blend of sounds by mixing together punk, grunge, classic rock, indie pop, and ballads. The 17… Read More Music Review: Paul Maged – ‘Diamonds and Demons’
One of my favourite stories, which seems to draw its roots from a Native American tradition, goes as follows. An old man is teaching his grandson about life, telling him that a fight between two wolves is going on inside every single person on this planet. One is evil: anger, envy, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity,… Read More Music Review: Unfathomed of Abyss – ‘Arisen Upon Oblivion’
Central Washington-based self-described groove, rock, reggae trio Dimestore Prophets seems to be dedicated to bringing to their listeners music they dub as “feel good” since 2009. In April of this year, guitar player and vocalist Ray Glover, drummer John Wilson, and bassist Eric Groff released their EP Be Yourself in which they explain they brought… Read More Music Review: Dimestore Prophets – ‘Be Yourself’ EP
