Writing from the Fellowship

Reader links roundup #1

May 05, 2025

Dear Inklings,

First, a couple announcements:

Renley’s short story, The World Dies First, is FREE on Kindle from today until Friday, May 9. Take advantage! If you’ve already read it before, it would be so helpful if you write a review for it on Amazon or Goodreads. Thank you!
For more free books, if you enjoy fantasy and sci-fi books, check out this list of free books in this limited time promo!

As you read this, I will be offline for most of this month. For a workaholic, it’s always a weird feeling to step away and just “be.” I’m terrible at it.

The realisation hit me a couple months ago when my middle child started saying, “Mama you work all the time,” and telling other people “My mom works for fun.” Not quite the example I want to set for my children. We started implementing a Sabbath day for resting and playing. I still feel antsy even on that one day off.

May is always an off month for me, though. To be honest, my brain starts shutting down even by mid-April. It’s full of triggers, full of memories. No matter how many years march on since our son, Ren’s, death, May is like an wound that reopens every year.

Before he died, we had talked about one day taking a road trip up the California coast as a family. This year, M and I thought about it, even planning out stops. In the end, it was too much and we realised we still weren’t ready to do it without him. So, we’re going somewhere else.

I’ve scheduled these posts with links to my inklings’ writings for the next few weeks. There are some great pieces here. Please take some time to read someone’s work you haven’t before.

Lisa Clarke - An Icy End

A short fantasy story in answer to the prompt - Set your entire story in a car, train, or plane. This is set on a train during summer, so where’s the ice come from?

Mariana Serapicos - The Ones Left Behind

A woman travels to Brazil to visit her mother and is confronted with the deep loneliness that defines her mother’s daily life. As she navigates their time together, she reflects on their relationship—how it has evolved over the years, the complexities of their past, and the uncertainties of their future. She observes her mother’s solitude, feeling both sorrow and responsibility, while also questioning her own role in their bond. The visit becomes a journey of introspection, revealing unspoken emotions, lingering tensions, and the enduring love that connects them despite time, distance, and unchangeable realities.

Trevy Thomas - What's Important in Life?

The changes we experience in life change us too. Some of the hardest help shape our empathy. My move is just another shift that's stirring up new views on our mortality.

Amy Gabrielle - I'm sorry to tell you, but we have very little control in life.

In a world that feels scary and out-of-control, we still get to choose how we want to live.

J.E. Moyer - The Princess & The Ped

Explores the profound impact of misattributed parentage experiences (MPEs), where individuals discover their parentage is not as believed. It introduces "pre-emptive moral injury," arguing that hidden family secrets cause emotional harm long before discovery. This injury, stemming from sustained deception, leads to issues with trust, identity, and self-worth. The author shares their personal MPE experience, highlighting the psychological effects and the importance of addressing the resulting grief and emotional trauma through therapy and open communication. It emphasizes the need for transparency within families to mitigate long-term damage.

Imola - The March

A short poem inspired by art.

Jeannie Ewing - 'Pretty' Isn't Usually Used to Describe My Daughter

My middle daughter Sarah was born with a rare craniofacial condition called Apert syndrome. One day while shopping at Kohl's for a new bracelet, Sarah encountered a little girl in the checkout lane who said, "You're pretty" and then gave her a hug. This post is a reflection on what that experience was like, both for Sarah and for me as her mom.

Mansi - The Unbearable Weight of Letting Go

This essay explores the complex relationship between surrender, control, and healing. Through the visceral experience of deep tissue therapy, I examine how trauma is stored in the body, tracing it back to childhood lessons in bracing, silence, and survival. Motherhood, art, and a night under the Milky Way reshape my understanding—surrender is not a loss, but a practice of trust. From the deeply personal to the universal, this essay unravels the illusion of control and asks: What if surrender is not giving up, but the radical act of allowing?

Breeann Adam - Three Minutes On Why Foster Care Matters

This piece highlights the positive impact foster parents can have on children in their care. Told through a short personal narrative, this story shows how foster parents can change the trajectory of children’s lives by showing up as their kind, caring, and authentic selves each day and, therefore, teaching children to do the same.

Carolyn Faggioni - The Search for a Silver Lining: Standing, Not Broken

This essay was a reflection on the 2024 presidential election outcome and its impact on me, a recently retired public school social studies teacher, defender of democracy, and social justice advocate.

Jenn Zuko - Sherlumbo

I’m a huge Sherlock Holmes nerd and adore Columbo. So I thought I’d do a side by side comparison of the two.

Tawnya Layne - Why in the World Would White Folks Want to Walk Away From Whiteness?

It's about how the ways of whiteness hurt white folks, too, and why we should walk away from it.

Josey Lee - The Danger of Broken Girls: Part One

I no longer recall the girl's name, but I remember my parents warning me her tears were dangerous. "The bright yellow pee on the toilet seat, too. Don't touch it." If they had explained how chemotherapy works or encouraged me to talk instead of eyeing her from the other hospital bed, would my story be different now? I cannot know, but I learned broken girls are to be feared. They might even destroy you.

Istiaq Mian - He's wanted to die since I was ten years old

A patient I see in the hospital tells me he wants to die. I called his daughter who told me “He’s been saying that since I was ten-years old.” After he dies, I kept in touch with his daughter, who showed me how she survived his upbringing and how she continues to move through the world. I hope this essay shows the value of going to therapy.

The Untangling is a paid publication. I explain my reasoning for paywalling my work here. If you would like to sponsor this publication and gain the keys to our Fellowship, consider upgrading your subscription or supporting my work another way.

About Me: I’m Tiffany, a literary fiction, fantasy, and memoir author. My writing has been published by The Cultivation Project and Renewal Missions. I’ve been writing this publication, The Untangling, since 2023, which is a Substack bestseller. Order my books here.