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Annabel Smith's avatar

An honest and heartfelt piece, Sara, thank you for sharing. You always seem so capable and productive, it is hard to imagine you not coping! I can relate to so much of what you're saying here. Forgiving myself has been a big part of my journey. Also, lowering the bar! Taking time away from writing when I feel disheartened has been really beneficial for me.

Have you read Matt Haig's non-fiction? Reasons to Stay Alive is one I go back to whenever I'm struggling. It has lots of wise things to say.

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Sara Foster's avatar

Thanks Annabel. I think lowering the bar is definitely underrated! And I love Matt Haig too. Have read a few but not Reasons to Stay Alive - will have to check it out now. ❤️

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Kim Lock's avatar

This is lovely, Sara. Thank you for so beautifully articulating what is often hard to pin down in words. I can relate to a lot here. I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend. What a gift you gave to her and her children. xx

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Sara Foster's avatar

Thank you, Kim, for your lovely words. x

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Kate Thompson's avatar

That's the second time in 24 hours that I have been wowed by your writing. You are amazing, Sara Foster. xx

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Sara Foster's avatar

Thanks for your kind words Kate! Hope you’re enjoying the novel! Xx

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lisa kusel's avatar

VERY sorry about the loss of your friend. And...thank you for this. For the reminders. x

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Sara Foster's avatar

Thanks Lisa and glad you liked the post xx

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Normal Matter's avatar

Love it. Definitely time and resilience stands out to me. I never really thought about writing and resilience before. Time out… time spent… since I started writing… as I write now. I returned to a short story I wrote when I was 20 in 2011. It was fun to reread it after 14 years, and then re-write it in my current voice. I wrote other things between now and then (thesis, then government documents for a while…). I wasn’t as resilient as I thought as a writer, but the writing was resilient enough to last (only in hard copy! Thank you Mum for digging it out of the box of papers for me).

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Sara Foster's avatar

How fun to revisit a short story like this! I love these old treasures that we dig up and how they can take us back to different times of life so we can see what’s changed and what stays the same! (And kudos to mums who save these things!)

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Maggie Szabo's avatar

Absolutely beautiful 😌

Thank you Sara 💕

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Sara Foster's avatar

Thanks Maggie xx

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