I’ve had a stressful and unhappy year. My oldest daughter barely survived seventh grade. There were enough tears to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and there were many nights spent worrying over her. There were also many evenings of stressing over homework and grades and friends and boys and teachers and clothes and gym class.... Continue Reading →
It has been a long time since I’ve cried while reading a book. However, it happened recently when I finished The Light Between Oceans (2012) by M. L. Stedman. I did not just leak a few tears. I sobbed. I found out about the book from a movie trailer. The book is a movie now,... Continue Reading →
As I begin reading Zadie Smith’s first novel White Teeth (2000), I realize that I have not yet posted about reading her book On Beauty (2005). For some reason, when I opened it, I expected some sort of feminist critique of media and advertising. I thought it was nonfiction. To my surprise (and delight) it... Continue Reading →
We recently visited Capitol Reef National Park as a family to hike and camp. My sister Haley and her husband David are expert campers and hikers and took us there. The park is gorgeous, and we did a five-mile water hike that was a blast. We arrived on a Friday evening... Continue Reading →
Read previous chapters here. Chapter 11 Leda is cooking now. She knows Walt cannot eat solid food yet, but she feels better just using her hands to create something instead of watch somebody decline no matter what she does. She is chopping potatoes and loading them into her crockpot, hoping she will have the... Continue Reading →
I recently realized that I had a printed copy of an interview my mother did with my great grandmother Antonia Montosa Juanes. She is a Hawaiian Spaniard, born to Spanish parents in Makaweli, Hawaii. I always knew she was a Spaniard, but it has recently come to my attention that Hawaiian Spaniards are part of... Continue Reading →
Read Chapter 1 Read Chapter 2 Read Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Soledad is a good girl, quiet and kind, polite and accommodating. She still doesn’t understand why they’ve moved, gone and left Papa in Los Angeles. She asks about him frequently, making Mama’s eyes glisten, a sight that immediately calls guilt to Soledad’s breast. She... Continue Reading →
Many years ago I fancied myself a budding author of fiction. I wrote a few novels, some finished and some half-finished. While I know now that I'm no novelist, and I know that my fiction writing is not the best, I do want to share it. So every Friday I will be sharing a chapter... Continue Reading →
Malia is a teenage artist who lives in my neighborhood. I've know her since she was a young girl, and I'm so impressed with her talent that I'm sharing it with you today. In addition, she does work by request, as you'll see below, and she would welcome doing a family portrait for you. Here's... Continue Reading →
From as early as I can remember, I was taught to be proud of my Spanish heritage. My siblings and I all have Spanish middle names. “You are a quarter Spanish,” my mother would always say. My dad would teach me words and phrases, and Spanish colors and numbers were a regular part of my... Continue Reading →
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 