26 Comments

I wish we didn’t have to try to wrap words around these terrible things, but I’m so glad you do.

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Lindsey, that is so, so kind. Thank you so much being here. I promise to write about something happy next time!

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I mean, maybe?? 😅 we may just need truth-telling and mother-wisdom for the foreseeable future!

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Gutting. Awful. Sublime.

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I keep thinking about these three words. I don't know. They're stuck in my head. Something there, Marianne.

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Oct 18, 2023Liked by Meg Conley

Heart-wrenching and I thank you. 🙏🏽💛🕊️

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Thank you so much for being here, Stella. Wrenching is exactly the right word for the state of things, I think.

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Oct 18, 2023Liked by Meg Conley

I feel like my heart will never stop breaking, ever :'( I'm so thankful for you, Meg, and the heart you write with.

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Roxy, thank you so much. And yeah, I think heartbreak is just like....a constant state if you're paying attention. Which I guess...is okay. It means there's heart to break, right?

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If your heart is breaking that means there's heart to break. This.

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❤️

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❤️❤️❤️

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Printing this to keep among my favorite pieces of writing 🌅

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Elizabeth. Thank you. That is just really, really amazing to hear from you, a writer I respect so much.

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You’re lending wind to my flagging sails! Thank you—I’m treasuring up your words!

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Oct 19, 2023Liked by Meg Conley

Thank you so so much for speaking about the suffering in Gaza, which sadly is a brave thing to do these days, although it shouldn’t be when children have died and are dying on both sides.

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I continue to be surprised when people are upset that I write for children and against war, always. I always think...have they read anything I've ever written? Of course this is my stance! But people do get upset! And it's a damn shame. Because they are missing out on the whole damn thing. Thank you so much for being here.

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Oct 19, 2023Liked by Meg Conley

That’s the key isn’t it. The cracks. 💔 How many more can we take before we break completely? Is there any hope of mending?

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I think you know how to write the ending of the story Camille! (Seriously. Write it so I can read it.)

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You have such a way of holding together the beautiful and the horrific -- making our hearts break (collectively, in the pocket observatory community) out of both pain and love. Thank you, Meg.

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SUCH a gracious way of looking at my work. Thank you so much, Christine.

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Oct 19, 2023Liked by Meg Conley

This may be the only thing people need to read on this. Thank you.

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That's a really generous thing to say. Thank you. Pieces like this are so tricky. Because ultimately, I wish this essay didn't have to exist. But because it does have to exist, I do hope it finds its way into people's hearts. Not because it's such a great piece of writing or anything. Just because...Idk...it's what I can do to try to soften the world. Little as it is!

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"holy people in the shape of children" made me weep. Thank you for helping us hold all of this.

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Oh Elizabeth, thank you for being here and holding it with me!

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Oh my goodness, that last line. I burst into tears. 💔

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