Member Newsletter — September 2026

Photo by Nancy Burgess

 

Hello Writers!

“What we run from pursues us. What we face transforms us.”
—David Kessler

The trees were calling me.

Inviting me to escape my tangled thoughts and step into the welcoming peace of the forest. I slipped on my hot pink running shoes and entered with excitement, curiosity and wonder. Birdsong drifted among the birch trees, leaves danced with the wind, and the unmistakable scent of rain lingered in the air.

The wood-chipped trail led me to a labyrinth formed from carefully placed stones.

I had forgotten about this sacred place. My dear writing mentor, Kimberly Crum, had brought me here once before during a Women Who Write retreat. She had explained that a labyrinth is a spiritual place for reflection and prayer, where the simple act of walking could sometimes reveal answers to a question or dilemma.

My hope was somewhere along its winding path, clarity would find me.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside. I prayerfully asked the Holy Spirit to illuminate the places within me that still needed healing.

One slow step forward, and I pondered my why.

Why did I have a pattern of returning to what I already knew wasn’t right for me?

My body knew long before I was ready to accept the truth. I had walked away. More than once. Yet, somehow, I kept finding my way back. Returning brought a temporary sense of relief, but it never lasted. The uneasiness always returned because nothing had changed. Eventually, it became louder than my fear of leaving.

Even new relationships carried an unsettling familiarity.

For years, I thought I feared being alone. But that wasn’t entirely accurate. I had lived alone. Forged a successful career alone. Raised children, made decisions, traveled, repaired what broke, and weathered difficult seasons on my own. I knew how to be alone.

So, what was I afraid of?

As I followed the winding path of the labyrinth, another truth began to surface. Perhaps I wasn’t afraid of being alone at all. Perhaps I was afraid of being left.

Abandoned.

The word settled heavily in my chest as tears slipped quietly down my face.

I had spent years hoping someone would be my forever person, unaware that I was asking them to satisfy a hunger that had existed long before they arrived.

Beneath my fear of abandonment was something I had not been able to articulate. That is, until I paused in the center of the labyrinth.

Stability.

But what did stability really mean to me?

To feel safe in someone’s love. To know I could rest there without wondering if, or when, it might disappear.

But it went even deeper.

Could I trust that I was the only one?

Chosen and cherished.

Could I belong to someone else without losing myself?

Safe enough to finally stop wondering when the ground beneath me might shift.

There it was. I wasn’t simply searching for a man. I was longing for safety.

Somewhere along the way, I had learned to work for that security. To accommodate. To take too much ownership. To tiptoe. To overgive. To forgive. To try again. And again.

Walking away wasn’t the most difficult part. I had done that many times.

Staying away was.

Because leaving didn’t just mean losing a relationship. It awakened something much older—the little girl who feared being left without the love she desperately craved.

And so, I returned.

Different relationships. Different circumstances. Yet somehow, the same familiar path.

The noise around me faded. My breathing slowed, and my attention drifted down to the handmade bracelet wrapped around my wrist. Threads of lavender and sage twisted around one another, ending in a knot sealed by flame. At the opposite end, a simple loop held it around my wrist.

I stopped.

A knot. A loop.

I had come in search of truth, and I found it wrapped around my wrist.

The bracelet had become a picture of me.

Appeasing. Over-accommodating. Taking too much ownership. Going back. Accepting what I knew wasn’t right because separation felt unbearable in those moments.

Choosing to lose myself in order to keep from being left.

I stared at the bracelet.

For years, I had been trying to prevent others from leaving me, never realizing how often I had abandoned myself in the process.

The bracelet wasn’t permanently attached to me. Nothing locked it in place.

The prayer I whispered when I entered the labyrinth had been answered. I believe God had illuminated what I could not see.

But He would not make the choice for me.

With my fingers shaking, I lifted the loop over the knot. It fell loosely into my hand. I stood there, looking at it.

I knew removing a bracelet wouldn’t heal wounds carried since childhood. There would still be work to do. There would be moments when the familiar would call to me again.

But in that moment, something had changed.

I thought about leaving the bracelet alongside the other treasures left in the center—rocks, jewels, and trinkets left behind by those who had walked before me.

But I changed my mind.

I wanted to keep it.

A reminder.

A choice.

When I reached the end of the labyrinth, I didn’t turn back.

I ran forward.

~Nancy Burgess

 

Photo by Nancy Burgess

 

WRITING PROMPT

Step away from the hustle and bustle of life and find a place where you can be still. Take a hike. Sit beneath a tree or beside the water. Find a quiet corner of your home. Heck, even a closet will do if it gives you enough space to quiet the noise and listen. (A wonderful suggestion from Ellen Birkett Morris)

Think about something you have been holding onto. Maybe it’s a pattern you keep repeating, a behavior you struggle to understand, a relationship you keep returning to, or something you know isn’t serving you but have difficulty releasing.

Ask yourself:

What is my why?

Why do I do what I do?

Don’t settle for the first answer. Get curious. Ask why again. Follow the question a little deeper. What might be underneath the behavior? What are you protecting, avoiding, seeking, or afraid of losing?

Don’t force an answer. Simply create enough quiet for one to find you.

Then write.

Write about your own experience, explore the question through a character, or create a poem around your why. You don’t have to begin knowing where the writing will take you.

Sometimes the revelation comes in the writing.

~Nancy Burgess

 

UPCOMING WWW MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Our next regular member meeting will be on October 13th from 6:00 to 7:30pm at the Northeast Branch of the Louisville Public Library at 15 Bellevoir Circle.

If you would like a peer critique, email us () by October 13th at noon. Please bring 15 printed copies of the manuscript you want us to read. No more than 1300 words (4 to 4.5 pages double-spaced) for prose (excerpts of longer pieces welcome), or two pages of poetry. To give all members an opportunity to read, priority for peer critique will be given to those who email us ahead of time and who have not read at a recent meeting.

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Give for Good Louisville returns on September 10th this year, and Women Who Write will host our third annual open mic night on that date (in lieu of a September member meeting) from 6:30pm – 9:00pm at Monnik Beer Co. at 1036 E. Burnett Avenue in the Schnitzelburg neighborhood. Mark your calendars, polish your best 5 minutes of writing for the mic, and sign up to read on our website!

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Save the date! Women Who Write will host our fall overnight retreat on October 10-11, 2026 at the Vevay Swiss Inn in Vevay, Indiana. We hope you will join us at this “small town oasis” for a weekend of writing with friends. Keep an eye on your inbox – more details to come soon!

 

 

Photo by Nancy Burgess

 

SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITIES & LOCAL EVENTS

Submissions open for Season Two of Brown Hound Press on September 1. More info here.

The University of Louisville is accepting submissions of short stories or flash fiction for consideration for the 2026 Calvino Prize for Short Fiction. This year’s judge is Diane Cook, and the deadline for submissions is October 1, 2026. Details here.

Save the date for the Kentucky State Poetry Society’s 2026 Poetry Conference on October 31, 2026. Watch for details here.

The 20th annual Kentucky Women’s Book Festival will be held at the Louisville Book Festival on October 24th from 10:00am – 5:00pm at the Kentucky International Convention Center. This combined event will examine women’s influence on stories, books, and literary culture. Expect authors, panel discussions, literary workshops, and readings. There will also be a pitch event – information here. And author Roxane Gay will be the headline speaker!

Regular local events:

Submission directories:

Women’s publications seeking women writers:

 

SUPPORT OUR WRITING COMMUNITY!

Become a member or renew your membership—As a community, WWW strives to nurture your writing life. We hope you choose to join or renew as a member and participate in our monthly meetings, author talks, retreats, and workshops. Our membership coordinator will notify anyone due to renew. Regular annual membership is $50. Student annual membership is $25. Scholarships are available. Membership entitles you to discounts on workshops and retreats.

Attend our monthly member meetings on the second Tuesday of each month for a brief program, peer critiques, and conversations about the writing life. Not currently a member? You can attend two meetings before deciding to join.

Visit our webpage WomenWhoWrite.com.

Visit our Facebook Page—@womenwhowriteky. Don’t forget to like us and follow us.

Thank you, WWW members, for joining our nonprofit group, for sharing your unique voices, and for supporting each other with open hearts and minds.

 

Your Leadership Team

Megan, Holly, Liz, Irene, and Nancy

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