Madeleine L’Engle was one of my favorite writers as a child, and I remember being startled by an excerpt in her memoirs when she remembers the time her family gave her a standing ovation when she actually cleaned the kitchen floor. 

This made a huge impression on me–the knowledge that one thing (writing) could be more important than another thing (a clean house). It was Madeleine L’Engle’s ability to prioritize and let some things go that allowed her to write through years of…

 Torn: True Stories of Kids, Career & The Conflict of Modern Motherhood

Edited by Samantha Parent Walravens

Coffeetown Press,…

Because I am a new mother working at home with limited childcare, I have been thinking lately how I have no models for how to do this in a healthy and productive manner—healthy for my relationship with my 5-month-old son, productive for my work and my career.

Growing up in the church, I knew very few married women who worked, period. Those who did were usually not professionals, and there was this vague sense that floated from and towards them that they had to work…

Scott Eubanks's short story, "Brood Parasite," was published on The Fertile Source on January 31. Here, he talks with editor Jessica Powers about what it was like growing up in a foster home for children with developmental disabilities and how that shaped his writing, in particular, this short story.…

I feed my dogs first thing each morning, otherwise, life would be miserable for all of us. Then I try--*try* being the operative word here—to make them wait until 4:30 before I feed them again.

Around 3:30, they start pushing their noses into my hands to interrupt my typing. “C’mon, we’re hungry!” Petting doesn’t satiate their voracious appetite. Telling them, “It’s not time yet,” doesn’t work either (no matter how exasperated I feel!). Their noses get ever more…

I love bookstores. I do. In fact, I love them so much, I NEVER GO TO ONE.

It feels like I’m confessing to something. I suppose I am.

I am the child of book lovers. I am the child of Christians who believe the Word is sacred. I have absorbed this sacredness into every pore of my being.

But I have to tell you: Bookstores scare me. They scare my pocketbook. My credit cards dance whenever I am in the presence of books. They sing happily. They…

Birth mothers are often the forgotten or ignored part of the adoption triad. Silent Embrace: Perspectives on Birth and Adoption is a collection of…