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✍🏻 Am I wasting my freedom to write? ✍🏻 Of the several convictions I felt reading "The Storyteller" by Jodi Picoult, that is the one I'm mulling the most right now. • In the barracks of Auschwitz, Mika used whatever paper surface she could find to write her novel. Being in possession of paper and pen was a serious infraction that could lead to torture or death. Still, she wrote. In the midst of her nightmare, she wrote. • She wrote because it kept her mind alive amid bodily deprivation. She wrote because it helped the other prisoners temporarily escape their reality. She wrote because she was able to process what she was enduring, to attempt to make sense of how evil and good can exist in the same human soul. • She wrote, quite simply, because she was a writer. And that’s how writers live. Writers write with every breath they take. They stop writing only when they stop breathing. • Mika did not have freedom to write, yet she wrote. • She would have given anything to write in peace, with actual paper, and a reasonable chance at publishing her work. All of that was stripped away from her, and she still found a way to write. • She wrote so that her story might live and thrive, even if she didn’t. Stories outlive their writers, Mika says, and that’s exactly the aim of writing. • I want to use my freedom to tell the stories I have been given. Because I can’t shake the notion these stories were never meant to die with me. After reading “The Storyteller,” how can I believe anything else? • Taken from my latest blog post (link in bio). . . . . . . . . . . . . #jodipicoult #jodipicoultbooks #thestoryteller #bookrecommendation #bookrecommend #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #writing #writer #writersofinstagram #writersonig #writerlife #author #authorsofinstagram #authorlife #whyiwrite #writerslife #writemore #writemotivation

"I don't like this book, Mom," she told me with a sad face. She had gotten to scene where something bad happened. Having read the whole book and knowing what was ahead in the story, I encouraged her to keep reading, keep going -- keep the faith the author was up to something she couldn't yet see but would appreciate. • And guess what? • A hundred pages later, she came back to me. "This is a good book, Mom. I like it after all." 😊 That's the lesson we have to keep learning. In fiction and in life. Keep going. Keep the faith. Something good is coming together. . . . . . . . . . . . #bookstagram #book #reading #read #raiseareader #readerforlife #booklover #books #bookworm #booknerd #readersofinstagram #readersofinstagram #instabook #instareads #keepreading #kidlit #fiction #historicalfiction

When has someone's life story changed or challenged your perspective? I can think of several examples of my own. . . This holiday season is the perfect time to learn a loved one's story. Get 10 creative conversation starters when you sign up for my monthly newsletter (link in bio). . . . . . . . #bookquotes #bookquote #tokillamockingbird #tokillamockingbirdquotes #atticusfinch #harperleequotes #harperlee #bookstagram #booksig #booksofinsta #booksofig #reader #readerforlife #lessonslearnedinlifequotes #whatfictionteachesme #lessonsfromfiction #quotes #fictionbooks #fiction

Agreed! Whose life story draws you in? . The holidays open up great opportunities to gather those rich tidbits from your loved one’s life story. Get started with 10 creative questions to prompt someone to open up about their life. It's a free gift to all who sign up for my monthly newsletter (link in bio). . . . . . . . . . . #tellstories #lifestories #lifestory #bookquote #bookquotes #novelquotes #mitford #mitfordseries #jankaron #athomeinmitford #mitfordbooks #fictional #fictionquotes #bookstagram #books #bookquotes #booksofinsta #instaquotes #instabook

Instead of calling them "ornaments," I call them "stories we retell each year."🎄 . Today, as a family, we decorated the house for Christmas. It's one of our favorite parts of the Thanksgiving weekend. Each ornament holds a moment in our family history, tender and sweet, and worthy of remembering. Worthy of our giving thanks for them. . There's the one from a trip to the top of Pike's Peak. The one from our first Christmas as a married couple. Our first baby's first Christmas. A little wooden baker in honor of my late mother-in-law and her signature Christmas stollen. . These are the memories we unpack and put on display. The memories we light up at night and look upon in wonder. The memories we add to every year. . God's many blessings counted and celebrated. . None of the ornaments coordinate with the others, and our decor definitely wouldn't make the Good Housekeeping cut. . But, bless it, I wouldn't have it any other way. . . . . . . . #thanksgiving2019 #thanksgiving #familystories #tellstories #storyofus #givethankstogod #givethankstothelord #givethanksforlife #authorsofinstagram #authorlife #writersofinstagram #writerlife

Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. It reminds me from Whom all blessings flow. It reminds me that, indeed, words are insufficient for the feels I feel and the abundant praise in my soul. . 🙌🙌 “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” -1 Chronicles 16:34 . . . . . . . #thanksgiving #bookquotes #bookquote #marilynnerobinson #gilead #novelquotes #fictionbooks #fiction #gratitude #grateful #bookstagram #booksofig #booksofinstagram #fictionquotes #novelist #read #readersofinsta #readersofig #readerforlife #praisegod🙏 #praise #godisgood🙏 #godisgood #happythanksgivng

The habit started in high school. When I read a #book I owned and came across a word I was not sure of the meaning, usage or pronunciation, I'd mark it and look it up. ... in an actual dictionary, because that was life back then. . This is my beloved copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, which has been mine for more than 20 years. Words I underlined include... . Assuaged, apothecary, piety, strictures, chatels, taciturn, unsullied, talcum, detachment, entity, pocket Merlin, teemed, repertoire, eaves, malevolent, predilection, beadle, nebulous, foray, condescended, indigenous, wallowing illicitly (what a phrase!), sojourn.. . That was just the first two chapters! . I am forever #grateful for #books like TKAM for upping my vocabulary game and nurturing me into the #writer I am today. . How has a book helped you learn the language in meaningful ways? . . . . . . . . #bookstgram #booksta #booksofig #booksofinstagram #booksofinsta #read #readersofinstagram #readerforlife #readerlife #readmorebooks #readbooks #writerlife #tokillamockingbird #harperlee #favoritenovel

Found a copy of Anne Tyler's "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant" at a thrift store. Opened it up and discovered the previous owner is a kindred spirit. Kelsey Harper of Hour 6, you are my sister. We are destined to meet. Until then, I will thoroughly enjoy reading your impressions on each page. Like a in-line book club discussion. ✏️📖👍 . Do you write in books too? What is your motivation to make marks on the page? . . . . . . . . . #amreading #annetyler #bookstagram #booksta #bookfind #readersofinstagram #readersofig #readersofinstagram #bookishlife #booksofinstagram #booknerd #booknotes #bookpage

This book was brought up in a conversation I was having with a young woman last night. As we discussed it, I was reminded how much this book meant to me when I first read it. A friend gave me this copy when my soul was hurting and I was trying to understand my own big emotions. . I sobbed my way through it. . It is always refreshing to find someone who has been as moved by a book as I have. What book does that for you? If you've read Captivating, what were your takeaways? . . . . . . . #stasieldredge #captivating #christianwoman #christianwomanhood #bookstagram #bookshelf #bookrecommendation #bookrec #lovethisbook #bookinstagram #booksta #book #booksofinstagram

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