Almost six years ago, I traveled to Whidbey Island for the first time to participate in a writing circle of strangers. That week, I made some dear friends who picked me up when I was hurting and helped me to work through some of the pain. Last week, three of those women – Bridget, Janis and Lynn –  traveled to Texas to spend nearly six days in the hill country with me. For five nights, we stayed in an old rock house on property owned by my parents and previously occupied only by cows. They opted not to leave the house except on Sunday, when we ventured to the LBJ Ranch. Mostly, we wrote and talked. Continue reading →