A few weeks ago, the Facebook page for my book The Only Little Prayer You Need was hacked. It’s not just that the hackers posted some objectionable material on the page. Instead, they removed me as administrator of the page and took over full control so I couldn’t remove what they’d posted and, after the first day, couldn’t even comment on it. I haven’t felt that powerless since the time I went to pick up a rental car on a… Read more

A few years ago, I was in a master’s program for creative nonfiction writing. I’d worked as a writer my whole adult life, but this was something new. Going through classes with people who saw the world differently—and described it in lyrical prose—filled me with nerves when I drove the 1,000 miles to campus for a two-week residency. For my thesis, I was writing about my relationship with my husband Bob. It’s a second marriage for both of us, and… Read more

A few months ago, my husband Bob and I watched a documentary about violence in New Orleans. A 16-year old girl named Cece said this: “The problem is never going to end.” One youth in her neighborhood is shot, she said, so another young person buys a gun to retaliate. That youth shoots someone, and the cycle is repeated. It’s very clear to this young woman that unending violence is not the answer in her neighborhood. Let’s face it. It’s… Read more

A few years ago on a January morning, I got a call from Mary, a dear friend and fellow writer. In her typically ebullient way, she said, “Deb, I think I’ve got the answer.” I didn’t know what question she had the answer to, but I knew well enough to listen carefully, because Mary’s answers often are revelatory. “I just read,” she said, “that Pat Conroy talks to Doug Marlette every day about writing. We can do that same thing.”… Read more