This summer I went on another reporting trip to Monhegan Island, Maine, saw Becoming Ocean head to additional film festivals across America and in Morocco (winning the Jury Prize Best Short Film at the Freeland Film Festival), played at the book release for Rob Roberge’s memoir Liar, did my first live storytelling show with Story Collider, and headed off to a residency at Ragdale. There were a few things going on, clearly, but the fact of it is that I felt only the pleasure of forward motion. Ragdale was a remarkable residency, one that I can’t even describe in full. Surrounded by beneficial ghosts and the most incredible group of fellow artists, every day felt attended by butterflies and dragonflies, and I wrote 40,000 new words on the book, with a new direction and joy that I hadn’t felt since I lost my mom. Back in real life in September, with the school and work year in full swing, I’ve been trying to keep that momentum going. But, more than anything, I missed the daily conversations with other writers and artists. In an effort to keep that joy alive, I started a TinyLetter in late September, just in time for the Youth Climate Strike. You can subscribe to it here, and read the archive of letters (four so far) here.