HeyJaredWriting the Second Chapter
From academic to novelist—the writing life, the second act, and the stories that shape us.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 8
- Latest publication
- Sep 30, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 7, 2026
Latest issues
I Don’t Get to Write the Ending (opens the original)
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I’m a writer. I’m supposed to write the ending.Yet, as my mother is in her final weeks, I don’t know how this will end. I pray for a peaceful ending at home with her family. A go-to-sleep-and-wake-up-in-glory type of ending. That’s the way I would write it.But the truth has been numerous hospital stays, increased confusion, long nights, longer days, surgeries, pain, and continual decline. This isn't how I would write it.My parents have been married for 66 years, and they were high school sweethe
Apparently, Target Sells My Book Now (opens the original)
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<img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="278.25" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jMjH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdfe626df-a419-4f11-8281-b35b875c6822_1200x630.p
The Pages I Didn’t Write (opens the original)
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<img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="405.2637362637363" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MmsF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F74b7dbf3-c3ac-475d-afa0-168597aeae
Touching Pat Conroy’s Desk (opens the original)
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<img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="450.01204416192707" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!VWsC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F971e19f1-f834-47e3-a43f-9f
I Didn’t Like Her. I Liked the Novel. (opens the original)
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<img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="359.0450928381963" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rISm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faa738d0d-d367-4be2-9d45-25bd92
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