making choices as i find my way...

the author's advanced copy of my book arrived. yep. i am holding it right there in that photo. with my name on the cover and everything. my. name. is. on. that. book. it is a bit unbelievable i must admit.

part of the unbelievableness is because i am so preoccupied with ellie's health needs right now. so time for celebrating that this day has come doesn't exactly fit into the schedule in between medicine and feedings and appointments and calls regarding all that is to come...

but then there is this other reality that i so very much want to share my book with you! i want to invite you all over for a big ice cream sundae party complete with champagne and show you every page and point out my favorite parts...i want to tell you all about why i wrote it and why i hope you will find your way to a bookstore near you and seek it out or order it from me with a signed note addressed just to you.

but gushing about the book in this space feels a bit like answering the question, "how are you?" with "just fine" when what you really want to say is, "pretty damn bad thanks for asking."

so i thought about not even talking about the book here...but that isn't the right answer either. (i am sounding a bit like the guy in that scene from the princess bride. you know the guy. that inconceivable guy. but this is the way my mind works sometimes. too much thinking.)

so while doing all this overthinking, i found myself seeking a space away from the mind chatter and i did what i often do. i took several deep breaths and gave my mind permission to quiet a bit and i turned to words on paper and wrote this poem note:

in this moment, i am
choosing to seek joy
making space to soar
resting inside hope
dancing through the fear 
pausing to notice
(with each breath)
the truth that lives inside me

a few hours later, i was creating a few custom soul mantra lockets and saw this poem note again and decided to hammer the words joy, soar, rest, hope, dance, and pause into a few small lockets i had on my studio table. it was one of those moments where i was singing along with paul simon while creating with my hands and smiling knowing i was supposed to be right there in that moment. knowing it was all coming together just as it should.

this evening, while thinking about how i want to tell you all about the book and why i am proud of it and why i think you will want to read it, i thought about this. how i turned to poetry and creating in the midst of the swirling challenges of our current every-day world. how finding my way to the words that live inside me invited me to find my own rhythm again, so that when it was time to be back in the world of medicine and calls with the insurance company, i felt more grounded and more like me...even though this is so different than the life i had imagined living with a three-month old baby, my baby. even though i am more scared than i have ever been, i am finding my way back to strength and bravery and the wisdom that lives within me.

and then it all came together: my book is about this very thing. it is about how we can see poetry, photography, and art as tools on our path, and how these tools help us unearth the truths that are whispering inside us. this book is about seeking the beauty in each day, even when that day might also be full of challenges and heartache and fear but also when it is just full of the everyday stuff that life gives us. it is about turning to words and paint and paper to see yourself. it is about picking up your camera to document the life that you are living right now. 

and as i live this life and walk on this new path, i realize the gift i have given myself in already having this rhythm with my camera and pen and all that waits for me in the little room. i have given myself a gift of knowing what i need to find the joy and the beauty in this life. 

yes.

this is why i want to tell you more about Inner Excavation. this is what it it all about. we choose what we shine a light on in our lives. we choose what we see in each moment. we choose. even when life is full of the everyday struggles, we choose. and creating can become the way we document these moments of our truth.

yes.

i hope you will join me in a moment of celebrating. because i will own that what that photo above represents is indeed a beautiful page of the book that is my life.

(thank you)

blessings,

liz

Inner Excavation (the contributors and preorder your copy)

a few of my out takes from Inner Excavation

When Viv was here last month, I showed her the most recent printout of Inner Excavation that was from my final editing phase that happened earlier this summer. As she flipped from page to page and commented on what she was seeing and reading, she pushed me to own all that I put into the book. She pushed me to see the beauty and truth that tumbles from each page through the words, photographs, artwork presented by the contributors and myself. 

Life has been a bit consumed by the little bean for quite a while now, and the book was written during a pregnancy that was pretty tough. And today, when I look at the cover and see my name there (my.name.), right there, on the cover, I am filled with joy. I really did it.

And I cannot wait for you to read it and get lost in the photos and words and then take out your camera and paintbrush and pens and begin to peel back another layer of you.

Because the simple truth is that you are what Inner Excavation is about. Through photography, poetry, and mixed-media art, the book examines our inward journey using several different themes including looking at where we stand on our paths, where we have been, and what we can discover when we open our hearts to ourselves.

I believe that as you walk through the pages of this book, you will reveal your inner poet and dance inside the joy of self-portraits and pause to take in the present moment and sift through the dreams you have tried to ignore and find your way back to you.

Now to introduce you to the contributors! You are going to be deeply inspired by what the following incredible women have shared in this book:

Kelly Barton

Susannah Conway

Jen Goff

Darlene Kreutzer

Stephanie Lee

Annie Lockhart

Vivienne McMaster

Kristen Perman

Ruth Rae

Susan Tuttle

Judy Wise

Inner Excavation comes out in October, and it will be in bookstores of the online and in-person variety. You can also buy the book from me, and it will come signed (to the person of your choice). I am now taking preorders. Here are the details:

For $28.95, your Preorder Book Package includes:

*One book signed by the me (addressed to whomever you specify)
*A special edition postcard pack of photography, poetry, and mixed media art from several of the book's contributors (these images are bonus images not seen in the book)
*Signature packaging 
*Two-day shipping via US priority mail; international orders will ship first class international

To preorder, just click the PayPal button below. In the "Instructions to Seller," be sure to let me know the name of the person receiving the book. 

*****

In this moment, Ellie sleeps beside me and I know I am so blessed. This is truth. Thank you for being here and holding us and pushing me and inspiring me to continue to share these truths and cheering me on through this new path of motherhood that intersects with a childhood dream of the path of published author. Yes. I am so blessed.

a cover (or rather, the cover)

imagine it a blue sky with a warm soft breeze in the air sort of day and you have just arrived at my little house in the pacific northwest. in this moment, we are sitting down to peach tea (probably of the iced variety as it is august) with a sprig or two of mint and happy pink cupcakes with chocolate frosting and a bowl of blueberries and a blue plate with white polka dots that holds a bit of cheese (because there must always be a bit of cheese). a jelly jar full of dahlias cut from the backyard and a short pile of books with a paper resting on top of them sit between us on the table; paolo conte sings while the warm yet refreshing breeze floats through the open windows. after we each take a sip of tea, i flip over the piece of paper and say, "this is it. this is the cover of my book." and then we toast with cupcakes before we dive into an afternoon of laughter and poetry readings and truth sharing.

yes. let's imagine this is just where you are in this moment.

because here it is...the cover of Inner Excavation that will be appearing at a store near you this fall...

 

this dream really has come true. 

*****

and i must confess that i did plan to share more here about the process and experience of writing Inner Excavation when i was in fact writing it. but because i was so ill the first few months of my pregnancy (when i was doing the bulk of the work on the book), i just didn't have the energy to share the details. but now that the little one is here and i am finally able to focus on the truth that this book really did happen (that i really did write it and i did take photos that are included in it and i did gather artwork and poetry and photographs from some amazing contributors that appear in it), from now until its publication later this fall, i am going to share pieces of what this book is all about and why i am so very excited to introduce you to this inward journey of exploring where we are on our paths through photography, poetry, and mixed media art.

(oh and the pile of books between us as we drink our tea includes a few i have been opening lately that i want to share with you:

Mostly True: Collected Stories & Drawings by Brian Andreas

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (Shambhala Classics) by Pema Chodron

Colors Passing Through Us by Marge Piercy

lately, the words from these books have been like a hand to hold on the journey.)

Edited to add:

PS I keep forgetting to tell you that I will be offering pre-orders of my book here through my site. The book will come with a signed note from me (to whomever you wish) and a free little surprise of goodness. Stay tuned as I will be posting more information about this very very soon.