Thrilled to share with you the cover of my first full-length collection of poems, coming Sept 15. Thanks to Susan Pearce Design & WordWorks Editor for making it perfect, and to Asian Art Museum for letting us use this image. For review copies, readings, interviews, etc--DM me!

Made my day

I'm so relieved.

I just offered the twins 25 cents each to not ask me to do anything for them for an hour. It's only been 9 minutes and I cannot count how many times they've walked in here, opened their mouths, shut them, and then turned around and walked back out. Best 50 cents I've ever spent.

Yesterday was the first day of 4th grade. Lars came home and told me there's a new kid in his class named Lenin. Lars said to him, "Whoa! Are you named after Vladimir Lenin?! And the kid was like, "Huh? No! I'm named after one of the Beatles."

I will hang this up in front of my house again and again and again.

In case there was any question about Maud (9) being a Van Orman, this morning when talking about her upcoming appointment with the orthodontist, she looked at me and said, "BRACE yourself, Mother" and then burst out laughing.

Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought Peter Coviello Amy Hoyt, PhD, MS, MA Taylor G. Petrey Lisa Van Orman Hadley (she/her) reviews Caitlin Myer's "Wiving: A Memoir of Loving Then Leaving the Patriarchy". "She recounts heartbreaking tale after heartbreaking tale of the hazards of being a woman.The prose is lyrical, the narrative is fragmented, and Myer's voice is blisteringly honest."

For all the people that think they are bad at responding to emails: I emailed a professor 12 years ago asking about source recommendations for a paper I was writing for a class during my undergrad. He replied to my email TODAY.

Post COVID, I can taste just enough to gaslight myself re: my inability to taste anything but can't taste enough to actually enjoy anything.

Lars: I told a bunch of kids at school today that I'm the best programmer. Me: Hmm, it seems like that could hurt the feelings of other kids who think they're really good at programming. Lars: No, Mom. You don't get it. I didn't say it in a mean way. I said it in a CONFIDENT way.

What?! So cool! Thank you, AML Online!

I'm so excited about this!

Paris Review Daily Poem just stunning me this morning

My The Former Washington Post Magazine essay about becoming a U.S. citizen is listed as a notable essay in the Best American Essays 2022 collection! It’s about being #Ukrainian and being American, about leaving home and finding one—questions that gained a whole new meaning since Feb. 24. So grateful.

So excited for this!

Lars (10) at the dinner table: So I had a weird-ass dream last night where I was reincarnated as President Lincoln. Don't question it.

Thrilled to share that Lisa Van Orman Hadley (she/her) and I are co-editing an anthology of essays on writing and #ADHD, with writing prompts. We are honored to have many terrific contributors (& wish we could have included more). It's a project that means a lot to us both. Look for it in 2025.