Giovanni left for Italy yesterday.  He has lived now in the United States with me for over ten years.  He is still not used to it--the southern accents, the guns, the wide spaces.  He goes home several times a year to regroup, see his family and eat the foods he loves.  And when I take him to the airport, I always handwrite a letter to him to read on his flight.  It is a tradition we have, as before we married, he commuted back and forth to the United States when he lived in Italy. (Read our story in An Ocean Away).

Several years ago I attended a seminar taught by the gifted writer, Sue Monk Kidd. During the two-day conference, she taught freely from her repertoire of writing craft and technique. But more, her foundational message to the artist writer was this: “If you don’t speak your voice, the world will miss a measure of healing.” That comforting and affirming message provided courage for me to begin sounding my own voice—at that time silenced by the censors in my head murmuring, “Why bother?” and “You’re not good enough.” “You work has no value.”

There are myriad and valuable websites offering methods and tools to help people improve their writing. My intent, though, is not so much...