Guess who finally subscribed to The Atlantic? 🙂 Dear Therapist: The Pandemic Has Changed My Relationship With My Therapist by Lori Gottlieb (from The Atlantic) “In other words, you say you’re trying to protect your therapist, but I have a feeling that the person you’re trying to protect is yourself. If you stop having sessions, …
Author Archives: A.C. Smith
When the light at the end of the tunnel comes sooner than you expect
I almost didn’t write this post. The information hasn’t really sunk in yet. Today in my treatment session, I got an amazing surprise. I was due to finish in mid-June, and had two more appointments booked. But the wonderful nurse who was looking after me checked their system. They had counted wrong. The next time …
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Riding the wave of the ups and downs
When undergoing any intensive experience (like cancer treatment) there’s a decision to be made: are you going to fight the tides, or ride them? I was reminded of this today. It was a treatment day. They have to give me a whole lot of premeds when I have Herceptin, because I had a reaction during …
Odds and Ends 1
How to Salvage a Disastrous Day in Your Covid-19 House Arrest by Aisha S. Ahmad (from chroniclevitae.com) “You are in “remedial” life class. For scholars and other high-achieving professionals, performance is an important part of our identities. We are used to tackling hard challenges, and we thrive on achievement and excellence. But that approach will not …
Some thoughts on interviewing in the arts
Yesterday I had a great interview for a wonderful opportunity. It surprised me that I was able to think this. Because the ultimate deciding factor is whether you get selected. Right? Well, I’m not necessarily sure this is true in the arts. It made me think a bit about this experience, and what I’ve learned …
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A helpful question for when all the days feel the same
The days keep going by. Those of us who are fortunate enough to be able to self-quarantine are have spent weeks inside. It’s a strange sort of life. Every day starts to feel the same. There’s some interesting research on this – talking about how new experiences make time expand, or conversely how repetition can …
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What to do when you’re out of your depth
I’m going to be honest: when I was first working on the writing job that is my primary focus at the moment, I had to google ‘how to format a radio play’. I never dreamed that my first radio project would be a two hour feature to an audience of millions. To my credit: I …
Try this for an allergy-friendly Easter egg hunt
Rosie is allergic to cow’s milk and eggs. We’re hopeful she will grow out of them but it’s not something we have any interest in experimenting with in the current climate. (The last thing we need is an allergy emergency!) This presented a bit of a conundrum for an Easter egg hunt. Real eggs were …
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Before
Before there were wordsThere was the bodyA language of touch and heat Before there were lawsThere was instinctRefined with each heart’s beat Before there were mapsThere were communitiesTheir boundaries drawn by feet Before there were banksThere was still exchangeOf necessities and treats But now the most deep human patternsHave transformed into dangerous chainsWe must break …
Insomnia companion, part 2: partner breathing
I haven’t been sleeping again, soI started writing myself a little insomnia companion book for the dark hours… Perhaps there is someone lying in bed next to you. Perhaps they are sleeping peacefully. You can borrow a bit of their restful energy. Let this be a moment to feel close to them, even if they …
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