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.
In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.
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What We Are All More or Less Lacking

What we are all more or less lacking at this moment is a new definition of holiness.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
I want to write a new definition of holy. We live differently when we see ourselves, others, and our earth as holy. Where to start? A new definition of holy would have to dance between being so tiny that we have to squint to see it but big enough that we can’t miss, ignore, or dismiss it. A new definition of holy would have to be accessible in the way that we all know someone who embodies it. A new definition of holy would have our stories at their core — stories connect us, and connection is holy. A new definition of holy would lift justice as the only way to peace. Justice is holy. Imagination is holy. Joy is holy. Awe is holy. A new definition of holy would include children laughing, whales breaching, dogs smiling, smelling my grandmother’s peonies, and sharing secrets with my best friend. In this new definition, the earth, our young, and our earth would all be holy and loved.
It’s time for a new definition of holy. Look around. Pay attention. Listen to our world. Hear with your heart. I believe we find what we seek.
About Katie

From 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.