Squeezing in the Blessings

When the opportunity to join Rebecca Makkai and Vu Tran for the StoryStudio Writer Retreat in downtown Chicago materialized, I jumped on it. Did I realize that I’d be squeezing in four magical, formative days at the Guesthouse Hotel in trendy Andersonville right after moving into my uber-delayed Sarasota condo and days before meeting my newest grandson? Or that the retreat directly preceded the busy Thanksgiving week?

I did not. 

What’s the expression? When opportunity knocks …. More evidence that life is full of simultaneously occurring compelling occasions–the subject of my last blog post. If you missed that one, revisit it here.

As I write this, it’s the day after the StoryStudio retreat, and I’m headed to the East Coast for that singular joyous event of holding my new grandbaby (the sixth one!). My heart is bursting with abundant blessings and gratitude. And instead of the overwhelm and exhaustion I suffered after moving and then traveling to Chicago for the retreat, I’m delightfully energized. Spoiling myself with that four-day window to devote to writing projects was a wonderful, albeit wedged-in gift. 

We started each day with writing prompts and a communal writing sprint. Many of us wrote through lunch or sauntered two doors down to the “Pick Me Up Café.” The motivational writing amid other writers honed my focus. It was one of the most productive writing weekends I’ve had this year. 

Besides surrounding myself with aspiring and published writers, I listened to two fabulous craft talks given by Vu and Rebecca. If you haven’t read their works, you really MUST. Even though I mostly write nonfiction, I LOVE to read fiction. If you’re unfamiliar with these two master storytellers, put them on your TBR list for 2025. Makkai’s book, The Great Believers, set in 80s gay America is riveting and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. And Vu’s work, The Dragonfly, was named a NYT Notable Book and a San Francisco Chronicle Best Books of the Year. You can see why I HAD to attend the retreat.

Another one of the reasons I registered for this past weekend—and why I love retreats in general—was to escape the noise and busyness of everyday life. As Rebecca Makkai stated in her closing craft session titled, “How to Make Choices (Good Ones),” one must give our subconscious minds the space to wander, roam, and inform us about what dreams, notions, and opportunities it has been working on while we weren’t paying attention. 

Over Saturday’s lunch hour, I left the retreat venue to participate in an unrelated personal passion. I attended an in-person post-adoption support group with my “people”—fellow adult adoptees, adoptive parents and birth moms—at the Catholic Charities St. Vincent Center on LaSalle Street. I love these quarterly check-ins because it grounds me in belonging and purpose: I am an adopted person, and this fact informs my identity and sense of belonging.

In addition to draining the battery on my laptop over the weekend, in honor of November being National Adoption Awareness Month, I squeezed in a live radio interview with Pat O’Brien of Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York (AFFCNY). I will post the recording link on my website once it becomes available. It’s heartening to learn of the important work folks are doing to support those within the adoption constellation.

While all these extra opportunities “presented themselves,” I was also enriched by getting to know my fellow retreat goers, people who hailed from all over the country: Wisconsin, New York, Chicago, DC. It was fascinating to learn about their current works in progress like crafting historical fiction novels, booking live lit performances, or learning to write in a new genre. 

The retreat team from StoryStudio of Chicago kept us busy outside the classroom, too. One afternoon, we walked over to Broadway and Clark and took in “The Paper Machete Show” at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge. The humorous sketches were a bit raunchy—the opening monologue centered on the election—but the writing was hilarious. The standing room only crowd (all much younger than this boomer) lapped it up while noshing and imbibing!

I want to close by sharing how much StoryStudio has impacted my writing over the last decade. Many of the chapters in my forthcoming memoir, Twice the Family, were workshopped in the course I took a few years ago called “Memoir in a Year” with author Kim Brooks. The Ragdale Retreat program I attended with author Gayle Brandeis in Lake Forest was also impactful and formative in completing my new memoir. And because of my respect for Rebecca Makkai and desire to challenge myself by writing in a new genre, I’m immersed in her four-week online course, “Short Story Toolkit.” Stay tuned on what emerges from that.  

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

However, and with whomever, you celebrate, I wish you abundant moments of peace and pleasure. As always, I am grateful for you and your loyal support. 

Follow Me Here

November 20th, Julie will be Dawn Davenport’s guest on the Creating a Family podcast. They will discuss Julie’s adoption story and her books.

December 5th, Julie will return to the Social Work Bubble podcast with Laura Swanson. They will discuss Julie’s forthcoming memoir, Twice the Family.

December 6th, Michael Carlon has invited Julie back on his podcast, “Uncorking a Story.”

December (10-13th), Julie will be a featured speaker (on 12/10 at noon ET) and panelist (on 12/13 at 5 PM ET) for the Shattering Stigmas: A Summit on Redefining Mental Health Narratives, co-hosted by Tammy Vincent and Jessica Kazaniwskyj. Julie will discuss the some of the childhood traumas presented in her next book, Twice the Family.

December 19th, Julie will be a return guest for Adult Child of Dysfunction podcast with host Tammy Vincent to discuss the childhood traumas revealed in Julie’s next book, Twice the Family. When the recording airs, the link will post here.

February 4, 2025, Julie’s new memoir, Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood hits the bookshelves. It’s the long-awaited prequel to her award-winning debut, Twice a Daughter.

February 13, 2025, Julie will be a return guest to Thriving Adoptees podcast with host Simon Benn. They will discuss Julie’s forthcoming memoir, Twice the Family.

March 14-16, 2025, Julie will attend the Tucson Festival of Books. You can find her in the Adoptee Authors booth where she will be signing her books.

March 21, 2025, Julie will be signing and selling books to benefit the Longboat Key Library at J McLaughlins on Longboat Key. Come out and show your support at this popular “Sip ‘n Shop” event.

March 26-29, 2025, Julie will be at AWP Conference and Bookfair in LA where she will greet readers and sign books at the Muse Literary booth. Hope to see you there!

Follow Julie by visiting her website, subscribe to her bimonthly newsletters, and listen to previous podcast recordings where she discusses topics like adoption, identity, and belonging.

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