Tag Archives: death and dying

One Writer’s Life: December 2024

Posted on January 2, 2025 by allisongreenwriter

Taking stock of your year? Here’s mine: Project 1: Creative nonfiction My father was alive one day in May 2021 and dead the next of a massive stroke. As executor, I became the keeper of the paperwork: obituary, hospital bill, … Continue reading →

Posted in creative nonfiction, Death and dying, Essays, Family, fiction, Mount St. Helens, poetry, Travel, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

One Writer’s Life: September 2024

Posted on October 8, 2024 by allisongreenwriter

In the summer of 1996 I took a class called “Dangerous Writing” from a writer I didn’t know named Tom Spanbauer. Portland State University ran summer classes in Cannon Beach, Oregon, and although a week in an upscale beach town … Continue reading →

Posted in Death and dying, LGBT, Literature, Uncategorized, Writers, writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Birthdays Past

Posted on April 4, 2022 by allisongreenwriter

There’s something magical about our parents’ lives in the years just before and after we were born. Or maybe it’s only me that finds them magical. My parents met, fell in love, and made me. Out of nothing, something. Out … Continue reading →

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Prayer

Posted on October 15, 2021 by allisongreenwriter

Since my father died unexpectedly in May of a massive stroke and my mother was subsequently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the only book I have been able to get myself to read is Pema Chödrön’s When Things Fall Apart. The … Continue reading →

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Anguish Time

Posted on July 28, 2016 by allisongreenwriter

In the Church of Saint Francis — Igreja de São Francisco — in Porto, Portugal, believers once dropped coins into alms boxes, whispered prayers, and hoped that someone was listening. These painted wooden boxes are now nailed to a wall … Continue reading →

Posted in Death and dying, Justice, Racism, Travel, writing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Conjuring Hurston

Posted on February 21, 2016 by allisongreenwriter

When loved ones die, we think of them, talk to them, ask their advice out loud and in our dreams. We conjure them, not only because we miss them, but because we need them. Alice Walker needed writer Zora Neale … Continue reading →

Posted in Death and dying, Faith/belief, Literature, Travel, Writers | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Silent Tide

Posted on February 9, 2015 by allisongreenwriter

In the year after we moved into our building, we never met the reclusive white-haired woman down the hall, and then she was carried away on a stretcher and didn’t come back. Some months later, Arline offered to periodically check … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Beaches, Death and dying, Faith/belief, Family | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

December 31, 2014

Posted on December 31, 2014 by allisongreenwriter

1 Lucy diagnoses Charlie Brown’s seasonal depression as pantophobia, fear of everything. Wikipedia’s definition: “a vague and persistent dread of some unknown evil.” 2 A coworker my age died unexpectedly last month. What started as a cough turned out to … Continue reading →

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New Publication: “At Fifty”

Posted on November 20, 2014 by allisongreenwriter

In this season of gratitude, I’m thankful for the editors, designers, publishers, and others who labor at making books. Reading and writing are what sustain me. You sustain me. Thank you to Mark McNease and Stephen Dolainski for including me in … Continue reading →

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Reunion

Posted on September 25, 2014 by allisongreenwriter

Bears like the Eagle’s Nest Motel in Priest River, Idaho. They lounge on the railings, shimmy up poles, and dangle from porch swings. We spent a couple of nights there this summer while attending a family reunion at nearby Diamond … Continue reading →

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