tuniemb

Every day Toni Morrison greets me at my desk with the same reminder: “If there is a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” These words of encouragement (from the author of Beloved) are up there in print, on the wall above my desk. She’s elbow to elbow with the Dalai Lama -- on a cover of the Shambhala Sun -- his eyes twinkling, a laugh forming on his lips, as if he’s about to remind me, “Of course, you can do it!” You can do it, from a spiritual descendant of the Buddha. You must do it, from the writer of all writers. How not to plunge in with these two urging me on? It’s been such an amazing ride that I want to record moments and markers that made up the experience of hanging with characters Claire Mortenson and Mona Arguedas for the past two years, not to mention the current road trip to publication. There’s still room in the back seat – feel free to jump in!