The Best of 2018

The Year In Review for That Girl, This Life Blog

To say I enjoyed spilling my stories into your inbox is an understatement.  It’s been a great year turning my writing from a hobby into a passion. I have often been shocked at what my memory unleashed, the word choices my brain provided, and the story that unfolded.  

Here’s a snapshot of posts that reverberated with many of my readers from That Girl, This Life.  If you are new at following me, head to my website (http://juliemcgueauthor.com) and follow this short list of fan favorites.  Three pieces* were edited and published in my local paper, The Beacher, which serves the beach communities of NW Indiana.

The blogs that resonated with readers as based on shared comments:

• “Ancestry Test Kits” (December 17, 2018)
• “Didn’t Do List” (November 5, 2018)
• “Dealing With Negative Thoughts” (December 3, 2018)

Posts that were edited & published in The Beacher:

• “Superman Tulips” (August 30, 2018)*
• “Do Not Roll” (July17, 2018)*
• “Chipped Tooth” (Sept. 27, 2018)*

Fellow bloggers that I follow:

• Brain Pickings by Maria Popova (brainpickings.org)
• Brevity’s Nonfiction blog (https://brevity.wordpress.com)
• Jane Friedman  (http://janefriedman.com)
• Judy Reeves, The Lively Muse (judyreeveswriter.com)

The books I treasured in 2018:

• Educated: a memoir by Tara Westover
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
• The Gentleman of Moscow by Amor Towles

Books I read that stimulated writing:

• The Art of Memoir, by Mary Karr
• Bird By Bird, by Anne LaMott
• The Business of Being A Writer, by Jane Friedman
• Still Writing: the Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life by Dani Shapiro

Books on my nightstand I plan to read in 2019:

• Almost Everything, Notes of Hope, by Anne LaMott
• I thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) by Brene Brown