Flannery O’Connor has come up as a topic of conversation a few times in the past few months.

I was writing my husband’s eulogy and remembered the time he took me to her home in Savannah as a little side trip on our driving trip to Florida. It was just one of the many thoughtful things Rick did for me in our 21 years together.

Then a few days ago, a friend mentioned that there was a Flannery O’Connor reading coming up in Texas. He thought I should go, just to break out of this grieving slump.

As I flounder to reassemble my life after losing my soul mate to cancer, I find the only comfort I have is in writing. Whether it be poems, prose, or simply recollections of our times together, writing assuages my grief – just a little. I often write letters to him in an attempt to feel him near me – or to pretend he’s still here.

Writing helps me come to terms with my feelings and helps me sort out random thoughts that are often buried deep within my weary mind.

This quote in the 2017 Fish Anthology sums up the power of writing:

“I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”

Perfect.