"Grief, I confess, has been my greatest teacher. It pulls the past into the present." Love this, and your reminder that we learn to live with grief, not recover from it. Louise Erdrich said that exact thing in her latest New Yorker Fiction Podcast appearance.
Thank you for sharing more about your personal attachment to this place, and to your ongoing search.
“Time doesn’t heal. It lends perspective. Turning toward — instead of away — from grief has been a path to grace.” A thousand times yes. May the year ahead be fruitful for you and your message.
I am selfishly thankful you plan to continue writing and sharing what you produce. I hope others will follow your lead, because I am so hopeful that we can all gain a more truthful story of the past.
Such a thoughtful post about memory, history, and grief, thank you! I so appreciate your emphasis on the role of local newspapers in helping us chronicle family histories. I’m finishing a family memoir right now and if it weren’t for the local newspapers in and near Walker, MN (and my late mother who carefully read on microfilm and transcribed their every mention of fifty years’ worth of my family’s activities), I would have nothing. Such a gift.
Your late mother deserves recognition today for her labor And best wishes on completing your memoir. I subscribed to learn more about your famiily history. Walker is big wild rice country.
Wow, a year! Thank you for these wise thoughts about grief -- they match with what l know of it myself. I'm so sorry about your Sam -- but am glad you had him and what sounds like a wonderful part of your life with him. What a big shift, too, leaving your tenure track job to live in a different way! It sounds like a dream that many of us have had and that you actually fulfilled, at least for a period of time. I'm so glad to have met you here on Substack and grateful for your wonderful writing.
A powerful post and apt recap into not just the last year, but the last 100+. Yes to the perspective on time and grief. If we love, we all must face it eventually and just because our sadness may dissipate doesn't disappear all together. Great job and I am looking forward to more!
Wow! It's going to take a long time for my eyes to dry after reading this. September is a month of loss for you. And yet it's very admirable and inspiring : the way in which you share this, how you write it. When you write of loss, Jill, you write it in a way that you're also sharing the intimate love and joy. We get to know your grief and your joy in the same sentence, so to speak. I guess it's the way in which you, yes sparingly, but with great depth and honesty, tell stories of connections that were amazing and beautiful by sharing the wounds of their losses. That's a gift or a skill. To write with that kind of precision and emotional acuity. To make every word and every sentence count. Much like how you live and make connections.. you know how to live every word and make it count. Thank you for this intimate and beautiful post
I deeply appreciate the honesty and curiosity you bring to this search for the stories of the past that reflect the real complexity and difficulty of acknowledging history. Thank you for sharing what you find, and a hug to you in the anniversary-month of when the love of your life died. I know that that loss is like, and I know how hard it can be to find a new path for yourself after it. Many blessings to you!
Aw shucks. You have seen me curling and graceful is not an apt description. Grace is the refinement of movements and that certainly remains a work in progress for me. In life and in writing.
"Grief, I confess, has been my greatest teacher. It pulls the past into the present." Love this, and your reminder that we learn to live with grief, not recover from it. Louise Erdrich said that exact thing in her latest New Yorker Fiction Podcast appearance.
Thank you for sharing more about your personal attachment to this place, and to your ongoing search.
We get through it, not over it.
I haven't listened to the episode. Do you mean the new one where she reads Karen Russell?
Her nonfiction book, Books & Islands in Ojibway Country, is set on Lake of the Woods.
Yes, Russell’s story is about loss.
“Time doesn’t heal. It lends perspective. Turning toward — instead of away — from grief has been a path to grace.” A thousand times yes. May the year ahead be fruitful for you and your message.
Thank you!
I am selfishly thankful you plan to continue writing and sharing what you produce. I hope others will follow your lead, because I am so hopeful that we can all gain a more truthful story of the past.
I am grateful for your support.
Congratulations on completing a fine first year! I love hearing the history of a place that's such a big part of my heritage.
Thanks. And I'm glad you're here. Appreciate your kind comments.
Such a thoughtful post about memory, history, and grief, thank you! I so appreciate your emphasis on the role of local newspapers in helping us chronicle family histories. I’m finishing a family memoir right now and if it weren’t for the local newspapers in and near Walker, MN (and my late mother who carefully read on microfilm and transcribed their every mention of fifty years’ worth of my family’s activities), I would have nothing. Such a gift.
Your late mother deserves recognition today for her labor And best wishes on completing your memoir. I subscribed to learn more about your famiily history. Walker is big wild rice country.
All of this-thank you, Jill
Wishing you well this Labor Day weekend. Thanks for reading!
Great reflection, Jill!
Thanks, Jessica.
Wow, a year! Thank you for these wise thoughts about grief -- they match with what l know of it myself. I'm so sorry about your Sam -- but am glad you had him and what sounds like a wonderful part of your life with him. What a big shift, too, leaving your tenure track job to live in a different way! It sounds like a dream that many of us have had and that you actually fulfilled, at least for a period of time. I'm so glad to have met you here on Substack and grateful for your wonderful writing.
Thank you, Constance. Your support and encouragement have meant a great deal to me. Grief also binds us together.
A powerful post and apt recap into not just the last year, but the last 100+. Yes to the perspective on time and grief. If we love, we all must face it eventually and just because our sadness may dissipate doesn't disappear all together. Great job and I am looking forward to more!
Thanks Kacyi. I appreciate you.
Congratulations on one year of your Substack, "Memory, Time, History on Lake of the Woods." Enjoy the sweet of the bittersweet memories.
Thank you Naomi. You've been here with me from the start.
I’ve read this four times and each time find something new. “Grief pulls the past into the present.”
Perhaps it is during poignant moments of remembering and longing that our best writing emerges. We are making the past alive again.
Thanks, Diane. Grief is an emotion that is best served raw.
Wow! It's going to take a long time for my eyes to dry after reading this. September is a month of loss for you. And yet it's very admirable and inspiring : the way in which you share this, how you write it. When you write of loss, Jill, you write it in a way that you're also sharing the intimate love and joy. We get to know your grief and your joy in the same sentence, so to speak. I guess it's the way in which you, yes sparingly, but with great depth and honesty, tell stories of connections that were amazing and beautiful by sharing the wounds of their losses. That's a gift or a skill. To write with that kind of precision and emotional acuity. To make every word and every sentence count. Much like how you live and make connections.. you know how to live every word and make it count. Thank you for this intimate and beautiful post
September is my month of sorrow. I appreciate your many kindnesses, Stephanie. You're a good neighbor and good friend. Grief connects us all.
Such beautifully wise writing, Jill. Congratulations on your Substack year!
Thank you and I believe congrats are in order on your Substack anniversary. Cheers!
I deeply appreciate the honesty and curiosity you bring to this search for the stories of the past that reflect the real complexity and difficulty of acknowledging history. Thank you for sharing what you find, and a hug to you in the anniversary-month of when the love of your life died. I know that that loss is like, and I know how hard it can be to find a new path for yourself after it. Many blessings to you!
You are so kind. Thank you, Susan.
I do enjoy your musings and getting to know you better through your writing. It bridges the many states that are between us.
Thanks for being here.
"Grace" what a great word and concept! Your writing is the epitome of your grace for yourself, others, and the message you seek to share.
Aw shucks. You have seen me curling and graceful is not an apt description. Grace is the refinement of movements and that certainly remains a work in progress for me. In life and in writing.