T. A. Campbell, PhD

The last several weeks have been a dream--reading, writing, and wandering the frozen Atlantic shore for inspiration.

#writing #GentlyDownTheStream #ReclaimingMeaningAfterReligion

Yep!

Did you know?!

A book of poetry for children! I'm thrilled with this find 📚

#Booksky #Books #Poetry #DeanKoontz

Loving the icy seascape of the Atlantic after this last storm.

This evening I explored a lone rusty lobster trap abandoned by the sea

and frozen sand bubbles that make the most satisfying pop when squished with fuzzy snowboots.

I'm still there but only to keep a eye on various interests while I'm working on a book.

It's wild, isn't it!

Nine degree Fahrenheit walk on the beach tonight, ice crystals on the sand, but it was worth it.

I don't put much emphasis on my birthday each year... but this one is kind of cool.

Tonight I've experienced two items on my wish list...

It's the first night living in my dream state in New England AND I saw bioluminescence for the first time!

New project brewing: a YA hybrid illustrated novel told through the diary of a whimsical, synesthetic teen who renames her journal Wilbur because “Dear Diary” feels too formal for existential musings and doodled frogs in crowns. It’s messy, tender, philosophical, and candle-orange warm. #writing

Emily Dickinson 💙

Nice! Congrats!

Wishing us both the best!

I just figured out that I've been Blueskying all wrong.

Hashtags it is!

#Writers #WritingCommunity

Moving out of academic writing and back into lit.

Getting my contemporary fiction manuscript out on submission and starting my book on reclaiming meaning after religion.

And, of course, continue (reading and) submitting to lit mags 💙

I watch with cc also. Isn't technology (sometimes) wonderful!

Yes! Same.

That's beautiful! And also sad that it came to an end as it did.

I went through several years of deconstructing and healing after some big life changes.

Now, as I return to literary reading and writing (after a decade+ in academia), I feel something changing in me again. A lightness, expansiveness, a new hopefulness.

It's the feeling of being alive, I think.

That's how we made it, too. I love that a simple food can provide such precious memories!

“You know what you are, Esperanza? You are like the Cream of Wheat cereal. You’re like the lumps.” - Sandra Cisneros (The House on Mango Street)

Funny thing, I liked the lumps best. I called them “bells.”

PHIL LIT Journal (@phillit) PHIL LIT JOURNAL — 100-Word Contest Winners “Fearless & Human First” Mini Contest — Substack Exclusive Thank you to everyone who submitted work to our first 100-Word Contest. A hundred words is its...

Excited to be featured as one of the winners of the PHIL LIT Journal mini contest! 💙

Percolating new ideas is exhilarating but exhausting-

arising time and again through the night to capture liquid thoughts.

I know you know it too. I'm certain all the best words, the ones we desire to become drunk upon, are created this way.

When Ice-Tilt Devours On witnessing when that is all we can do.

Sometimes, all we can do is not turn away. To witness the horror that we know awaits.

(Not Quite) A Coffee for a Story On how witnessing the soul in strangers gives me hope- Jane, an adoptive mom, and Brandon & Will, two unhoused brothers.

"In the past, I have been compelled to solve problems, to offer insights and help. But in both of these conversations, the most helpful thing I could offer was to listen, to hear."

T. A. Campbell, PhD (@drtiffanycampbell) My A Coffee for a Story prompt cards are here! I'll be heading out to coffee shops soon to hear the stories that matter most in our lives. I invite you to join me here, where we'll discover the hop...

My A Coffee for a Story prompt cards are here!

I'll be heading out to coffee shops soon to hear the stories that matter most in our lives.

Join me and together we'll discover the hopes and dreams, fears, and triumphs that bring meaning to being human.

Here, Together Survival.

Survival isn’t just grit—it’s the quiet breath before the next wave. I’ve spent years in that rhythm, and I know I’m not alone. But I’m no longer looking for connection built only on shared wounds. I’m searching for the kind that’s lifted by glimmers, awe, and the courage to hope.

To be clear, I find this appalling. I share because I think these kinds of stories -that white people provided something of benefit to the enslaved- are still taught and believed far too often. But as religious belief is linked, and education is often shunned, I'm not sure how we break through.

Sadly, some of my ancestors owned plantations and practiced slave ownership. My mother tried to teach me that slavery wasn't always bad--that our ancestors "treated their slaves well" and thus, in return, were greatly loved by them 🤢 She takes great pride in this. She is also a religious fanatic.

This little guy was just hanging out on a lilypad in our fish pond this morning.

Hugs! It's tough. Mine probably won't be here for long--we are nc & that won't change. I did self-work on the past harms but was surprised when a trauma response bubbled up anyhow. I realized it was the sorrow for what could have been. It's such a sad one to work through, isn't it? Hang in there. 🫂