Lost Lit

Wishing you a very Happy Holidays from my drama family. Worked on my stress level and not feeling resentful on Christmas Eve wrapping presents past midnight. Success! Didn’t manage Holiday card making and mailing again this year. Haven’t been able to mail a letter since 2016 when my first daughter was born. So here’s an e-card thanks to canva!

Also offered up a plate of Christmas stollen to my mom’s angel collection. This Christmas was especially hard / triggering given all the childhood trauma s**t I’ve been digging up. Fun times!

Crawling out of a depression hole since last week’s election devastation. Feeling like I’m taking full, embodied inhale in, exhale out thanks to outside, fall air, kids in holiday camp. And ’s as the true comfort that we will get through this.

Once again, writing saves me. Writing saves us.

Dear Friends,
I’ve been hearing a lot about letter writing recently. So I’m playing around with how to keep the conversation (and connection) going with this Lost Lit Instagram even though workshops are on hiatus.

I’ve been working on my memoir like I promised I would. More on that later. But just wanted to share my excitement of doing the thing I’ve heard about for years! Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way talks about morning pages. I actually have not read her book! But have had many Lost Lit writers tell me they have.

As much as I thought I craved structure and rules in life (that was just my mom’s internal programming!) With the art and creativity of writing, the minute someone tells me to follow a rule, a routine—my silenced, suppressed, rebellious toddler 3 year old self comes out. NO! Don’t tell me what to do. How to write. When to write. What to write. NO!

But this morning I woke up and had a dream about Albert abandoning me. And I could feel the scene, the contents already evaporating. But the aftertaste of the feeling of abandonment was strong.

So I grabbed this fancy journal (hard back red velvet cover) that I wrote last in 2002. I had ripped out the pages because Rainey wanted it as her special flower journal. This summer since she can’t read or write yet-I told her we’d find flowers and press them inside a book as our shared memories. And I wrote MORNING PAGES! 4 actual pages-in the morning!

Even though it made me late with the kids morning routine, I felt really proud of myself! You were the first I wanted to share this with! What’s your writing win today? Or recently past present? Or tomorrow?

L💓ve,
Lynne

📣 Big Lost Lit Announcement (9.24.24)

Dear Friends,
I write ✍️ you now with a big announcement! I will be pausing future Lost Lit Workshops so I can take care of myself—mentally, emotionally, physically—you know the whole emodiment thing. I am making myself a priority and going on a diy Writing Sabbatical! I will fulfill a life long dream of getting my memoir published!

I promise to write again through the Lost Lit Newsletter (because there’s much reflection on the past 12 years!) Or maybe I’ll jump aboard the substack train!

This isn’t goodbye, just a much needed recharge, recalibration, redo, rest—to focus on what matters. Can’t wait until we write together again.

L💓ve,
Lynne

Wow. Can’t believe I survived the summer! Apologies for being out of touch and not keeping up with Lost Lit’s social media!

Today was the first day of back to school. Emmy begins 3rd grade and Rainey is in 1st grade. We were all VERY excited for school to start! Now that I get my mind back, look out for a Lost Lit newsletter soon with a big announcement.

5.4.24
It’s my mom’s birthday and my day off from mothering. This combination is allowing me to sit in mom . I’ve been crying off and on, like misty rain. I woke up and scoured the photo album section in the living room, searching for this one photo of my mom in Hawaii. The time she lived there.

Was it in her early to mid 30’s? I should really figure out when. I know it was for 2 years. I know it was after she got her Masters in Library Science from Florida State Univ. I know she met Pat, who would become known as Pat Hawaii b/c of the over saturation of Pats. Who would be her pen pal and confidant. Living in Hawaii would be equivalent to my living in SF. It was my mom’s love affair, great adventure, escape from NJ time period.

I found the Ma Hawaii photo as Emmy and Rainey both bickered and wouldn’t listen to Albert to get dressed, get ready, they were leaving any minute. Did they p*e? Where were their socks and shoes? Don’t put them on now. It’s too soon. No shoes on in the house not because we are an Asian family. But b/c it’s dirty. Why weren’t their shoes on? We have to go.

They left. The house was quiet. As I got ready to get my morning coffee, all those photos I sifted through in no logical order, looking for the one photo—they started to seep into my skin. And the rain came.

I will try to sum up this past Saturday’s Susan Ito & Alice Stephens book event co-hosted with Also Known As, NY. But describing something as magical yet life sustaining (like air) will be hard.

It was our first literary event since 2018. As much as I wanted to do the event in the Lost Lit living room, there was such an overwhelming, outpour of interest, that I wasn’t sure how to fit everyone? How to make everyone happy while still maintaining a homey, welcoming environment that is Lost Lit’s signature.

I also had someone’s negative no voice saying, it’s a fire hazard. You don’t need to provide hot tea or snacks. No need for flowers! But just like writing, I pushed those negatives voices away. And followed through on my vision.

Once people started arriving, all the event planning stress and my perfectionistic ways cleared. Like Rainey likes to say, a rainbow comes after the rain.


📸 credit:

WHAT! My 2nd year in a row of saying on the actual day! Really having fun in canva pretending I’m a graphic designer!

Still so happy to be roommates with Four & Twenty Blackbirds and to eat pie everyday if I wanted!

Our Spring Session Get Lit workshops and Grief Writing Workshops are open for registration! https://www.lostlit.com/writing-workshops

Spring, spring means:
1. Jean jacket, fleece jacket & leopard mary jane shoes with no socks weather-for the girls!
2. March is my birthday month! Yay to me being born.
3. March 17th-St. Patty’s Day where I honor my Connor family with only happy thoughts by eating corned beef and cabbage.
4. Flowers! On clothing, printed, sprouting.
5. And Lost Lit Spring Session workshops blooming!

Starting April 18-May 23rd, Thursday nights 7-9pm in Gowanus, Brooklyn, we will spring into writing! https://www.lostlit.com/writing-workshops/p/get-lit-4wk-spring-2024-workshop

You can tell me, too much spring punning?

Nov./Dec. 2023 Fall session -
For our last workshop steeped in fever, I offered the “picnic” prompt where different objects are placed on a blanket. It was one of my favorite prompts when I took my first AWA workshop in SF. And now that I have a home, I love offering it to my Lost Lit writers. The objects suggest endless possibilities, the writing is always surprisingly deep.

Join us for the 2024 Spring Session Get Lit & Grief Writing Workshops. https://www.lostlit.com/writing-workshops I’d love to write with you!

I get small/ tiny windows of time where I attempt to play catch up! My future goal is to post the wrap of a workshop session very close to when it actually ends!
“Whatever!”
My former 18year-old self used to love saying after stealing it from a friend.

Here are my writer friends from the Nov./Dec. 2023 Fall session. The group was a nice mix of returning Lost Lit’ers and new faces. I appreciate their patience as I fought burnout from an out of control fall (of emotions).

Registration is open for the 2024 Spring Session Get Lit & Grief Writing Workshops. I’d love to write with you! https://www.lostlit.com/writing-workshops

So excited to offer a Lost Lit Adoptees Writing Workshop at the KAAN Conference in June! If you know of any adult (18+yrs old-) Korean Adoptees or adoptees in general, early bird pricing till end of March. https://www.wearekaan.org/conference

🎉 KAAN 2024 Registration is open 🎊 Early bird registration just opened for this year’s conference and will go until April 30th, 2024. Join us at the KAAN conference from June 21 – 23 for three days of keynotes, films, presentations, roundtables, performers, exhibits, support forums, and life-changing community. KAAN offers an Adoptee-Only track, as well as sessions for a general audience that are open to all. There are programs for adults aged 21+ and youth aged 8-17. Everyone is welcome, including adoptees, birth families, family members (adoptive parents, spouses/partners, siblings, and children of adoptees), service providers, and Korean Americans. The conference will be in Rosemont/Chicago, Illinois at the Chicago O’Hare Westin Hotel. All the details of the conference can be found on our website and our registration page at our fiscal sponsor TFEC. Details on hotel and schedule will be posted later with a discounted room block. Please contact us at [email protected] for any questions or send us a DM and we’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible. We appreciate you all and we look forward to seeing you all there in June. Link on website and in bio. Please like and share to those who you think would be interested. #adoptee #kad #adopteevoices #adopteeconference #adoptees #chicago #kaan2024 #adoption #internationaladoption #kaan #earlybirdregistration