Creative Nonfiction by Andrea Badgley
It’s rough getting winter storm warnings in autumn. The kids were out of school yesterday, with inclement weather days chipping away at their summer break before we even get to December. But ice sure is pretty. Continue reading November ice storm
A few years ago, I wrote about research that suggests literary fiction helps us understand one another. In making a concerted effort to read beyond the authors I typically read, I think now it’s not just literary fiction that helps us understand one another: it’s diversity of perspectives. With my Andrea Reads America project, I’m … Continue reading The humbling experience of reading diversely
Dear Swimming, As much as I complain about you — about the middle of the night wakeups, about the cost, about the 3-day swim meets where we spend 18 hours at the pool for 12 minutes of our daughter swimming — I love you dearly. I abandoned you for many years. I used a tread … Continue reading Love Letter to Swimming
Last winter I obsessed over the garden. I scoured seed catalogs, bought graph paper to design flower beds, stood at the back door staring at the bare hill and tried to visualize what it would look like with plants on it. Now that everything is dead and gardening season is over, I wanted to take … Continue reading The garden through the year: monthly comparison photos
I have been told that it takes about six months to start feeling competent in a new role: to know where to look for things, to make decisions on your own, and to feel like maybe your employer didn’t make a mistake in hiring you. This was true for me in my job as a … Continue reading 7 months at my new job
My Andrea Reads America project is now 5 years old. I started in November 2013, and I am currently reading New York: state number 32 of 50. I’ve got 18 states (54 books) to go. I’m ready to be finished. Why do I commit myself to stuff like this? Finding books I like has been … Continue reading I love those books you just can’t put down
