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Freya Rohn's avatar

So grateful to have read this today, for your sharing the beautiful life of your grandfather. It's a fascinating way to think--if we would still be doing the same thing at 94. I had to leave a job that I thought had been my dream, in museum curation, right before the pandemic, due to an incredibly toxic work environment that was affecting my physical and mental health in ways I never realized until I could get space away from it. And the first thing I did was write--I had gone back to get an MFA in poetry when my son was young and I was working in a job that I had chosen--archaeology--but that was slowly extinguishing any fire I originally had. But writing was always something for another time, which was squeezed out of my life. I haven't stopped writing since and I know in my bones I will still be doing that at 94. I only hope I can find a way to sustain myself financially so that I can continue to write, fight the patriarchy, recover the names and works of hidden women writers I often write about, and not have to return to a life of cosplay in the work world.

I love the idea of a church of quiet--I think we have been soul-longing for spaces where we can explore mystery, rather than having to live in a world that wants to ignore it, or worse, crush that interest.

Thank you for your work--it has meant so much to know that introversion is actually a power, despite a world that insists too often on noise and action. Here is to seeking ways to live life in a different key. 💜

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Susan Cain's avatar

Please keep writing, Freya!

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