new year

Happy New Year, Friends!

Posted on by Wendy Kennar

My Dear Readers,

This is not the post I thought I would write for my first blog post of 2025. 

I imagined I would write something reflective about last year, and something hopeful and promising for the new year.

Instead, I’m going to keep it short and sweet and celebrate the fact there is a blog post today. I wasn’t sure I would get this post written and published, which would have meant that for the first time in more than a decade, I would have missed writing a weekly blog post. 

Thankfully that didn’t happen.

Friends, since Friday, December 27th, I have been in bed, sick with a nasty flu (though we all got flu shots back in September). As my doctor said, having an autoimmune disease makes other health issues — including this “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad” flu — more complicated, and it affects my body somewhat differently. 

The good news is I’m slowly getting better.

So as we turn the calendar on a new year, I wish for you some of the simple pleasures that have meant so much to me these last several days — a comfortable bed, a warm home, support and love from those closest to you, and the hope that tomorrow will be even better.

Happy New Year, friends!

My Word for the Year

Posted on by Wendy Kennar
Photo of bright blue sky and two palm trees
Photo taken at the beach on New Year's Day 2024

Last week, I read a blog post written by writer and book coach Monica Cox. She wrote about picking a word for 2024, a word that is in sync with her goals for this year.

It got me thinking. I’ve never chosen a word for the year. Yet, as I was about to do my daily five-minute writing exercise, a word suddenly popped into my mind. A word that perfectly matches with my goals for the year — writing-related goals as well as life-related goals.

My word is Share. 

2024 is the year I will query agents, the first step in sharing my memoir-in-essays. 

An agent will then help my manuscript reach publication, which will allow my story of living with an invisible disability to be shared with readers. 

I am ready to share my story, ready to make the invisible visible.

And, there’s another way I hope to share this year. 

I am working on more openly sharing my feelings. Instead of biting my tongue and holding things in, I will try to honestly share what I’m really thinking and how I’m really feeling. 

My tendency to not always share is a result of my inclination to keep the peace, to not upset anyone. I keep so much inside, trying to pretend I’m feeling better than I am, trying my best to take care of those around me.

But, in 2024 I aim to share — my pain, my feelings, my story.

Dear Readers, do you select a word for the year? If you feel comfortable, you can “share” your word in the comments. Thank you!