[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!
Melanie Faith
Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.
Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.
The Society of Professional Journalists
In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.
I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.
Maxine Greene
Philosopher and Education Scholar
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Ode to the Sun
Shine on, O glorious sun!
From Eloise Bibb Thompson’s “Ode to the Sun“
And never fail to cheer
My life so dark and drear.
Whene’er thou shinest bright,
And show thy brilliant light,
The cares I know each day
Silently steal away.
The sun can heal. Just as plants need the sun to live, we do too. In a deeply physiological way. (Like our own photosynthesis.) As a cocktail of connection to our world. As a gentle reminder of warmth and calm. As a space where sight is clear and shadows are illuminated. There is something to the theory that we tend to be happier in sunnier times of year. There is something to the desire most people have to vacation in sunny places. There is something to the need to get outdoors and simply breathe. We even turn our faces toward the sun when given the chance, just like flowers.
I am always reminded of the sun’s power this time of year. Days are nearing their longest. The sun has taken the last few months to rehearse and prepare, and it is about to begin a beautiful abundant run. I am thankful for sunglasses and sitting in the shade at a baseball game. I am thankful for the way the blue sky meets green leaves in sunshine. I am thankful for the pace of the sun reminding me to soak it all in.
About Katie
Born in Louisville. Live in Atlanta. Curious by nature. Researcher by education. Writer by practice. Grateful heart by desire.
Buy the Book!
The Stage Is On Fire, a memoir about hope and change, reasons for voyaging, and dreams burning down can be purchased on Amazon.
