Author, Tree Street Kids
By Amanda Cleary Eastep I’m a little afraid to write the words. Be. Courageous. Writing those words in my journal means I can’t tell God it was only a fleeting thought. That I was “writing drunk,” as Hemingway said, and planned to edit sober later. And I can’t blame someone else. No one’s handwriting is that bad. But it’s […]
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By Amanda Cleary Eastep I think about quitting. Letting go of writing like it’s some wild mammal I’ve tried to raise and train only to have it piss on the furniture and snap at my hand when I try to feed it. But who would I be if I didn’t write? I have announced, “I am a writer” […]
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By Amanda Cleary Eastep The ground is confused and awakening groggily, because it is too warm today for December. All those organisms aroused by the surprise of sunshine and high 40s stir, unaware that their future holds a predicted “swath” of 3-6 inches of snow that will unravel a 3-6 inch ribbon of white across northern […]
Read MoreBy Amanda Cleary Eastep “You have that look.“ My daughter says this as we hold each other in an embrace that sighs, “Don’t leave home,” and responds, “I have to go.” She’s taken to glancing sideways at me when we hug to make sure I’m not crying. I am on the inside. Wailing like a mad […]
Read MoreBy Amanda Cleary Eastep We are parked in the middle of a dark road in the Wisconsin countryside on our way home from my first ever grown-up New Year’s Eve party in my cousins’ basement. Cousin #1 is wondering why cousin #2, who may have sucked down a few too many Pabst Blue Ribbons, isn’t behind us […]
Read MoreBy Amanda Cleary Eastep As the days grow colder and closer to change in my life– children stepping outside the radius of a mother’s embrace, the loss of income that helped put a roof over our heads, separation from my daughter as she leaves for the mission field– emotions rush beneath my skin, which I wear loosely like a rubber Halloween mask […]
Read MoreWell, I’ve been afraid of changing ‘Cause I’ve built my life around you But time makes you bolder Even children get older And I’m getting older too Oh, I’m getting older too – “Landslide,” Fleetwood Mac By Amanda Cleary Eastep I had been singing these lyrics in the shower for weeks in anticipation of the […]
Read MoreBy Amanda Cleary Eastep You know that perfect fall day. Where the cool lays across your cheeks like a damp cloth, and the setting sun is a bullet of warmth above your right eye. You walk through freshly mown grass, speckled with decimated leaves that fell onto the dregs of summer, too soon to join the […]
Read MoreBy Amanda Cleary Eastep I pinch seeds like fuzz from a winter coat. It is the last day of visiting my cousin. Every one of his homes has seemed a retreat to me. He incessantly has his eye on some dilapidated structure full of hoarder treasure or bat guano, yet he somehow sees past the cracked […]
Read MoreBy Amanda Cleary Eastep I didn’t plan on writing about actor and comedian Robin Williams’ suicide. Lots of people already have. Lots of people who have more inspiring words to say. And it was some of those words that stuck with me. “I’ve learned that there can be meaning without things making sense.” Photo Credit: […]
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Amanda Cleary Eastep 