One of my favorite jobs ever was lifeguarding at a developmental center for people with intellectual disabilities. The two men I remember most taught me opposite lessons about strength.

On our first day working for Mr. Bowden, we nearly burned down his mobile home park. What he did next is why I worked for him three more years.

The first time I wrote about everyday magic, and the Topsail Island afternoon that proved I'd been asking the universe for too little.

I had a bad moment on the stern of a Navy destroyer, and then the single most beautiful thing I've ever seen came over the horizon.

Where Summer School began: writing a novel shook loose old memories, and four of them turned out to be lessons.