[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!
Melanie Faith
Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.
Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.
The Society of Professional Journalists
In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.
I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.
Maxine Greene
Philosopher and Education Scholar
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Counsel From My Ultimate Teacher
Here is what my ultimate teacher teaches me.
Keep a soft heart.
In this world that might seem to reward hard edges, fake veneers, and a fast pace, ensure your heart stays soft. A soft heart does not judge—a soft heart giggles. A soft heart is vulnerable. A soft heart offers fear a warm embrace. A soft heart’s love is fierce and sacred. Find safe places to crumble, cry, be angry, and cuss and fail. Find safe places to dance and listen and think and smile. Those soft places are where real strength lives and grows and blooms. Soft places are where healing happens, too.
Gratitude matters.
I have been writing about gratitude for a long time. What I know for sure is that living gratefully has changed my life. I can see the beauty in my world in ways I did not know were possible. I have witnessed acts of gratitude multiply and ripple and change the essence of relationships. I have seen cruelty in cruel times fall away. A favorite prayer, from Meister Eckhart, says, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you. It will be enough.” I believe that with my entire being.
Know your truth.
I did not think about my truth when I was young. (That is not to say I did not know about things like right and wrong, telling the truth or telling lies, and treating others like I want to be treated.) I have always known my truth, and I have always felt sick when I violated it. My head and heart hurt. I am at a place where, when I don’t live truthfully, I right my ship as quickly as I can. Righting the ship is essential. Moving toward our/the good is essential. Living in our integrity is essential.
Forgive often.
I have recently concluded (as Don Henley once sang) that it’s about forgiveness. Our capacity to forgive ourselves and others sets us free from so much of life’s crap. Our capacity to forgive is an original blessing. Forgiveness of ourselves and others is not easy. Doing the work of forgiveness takes practice. Forgiveness can be painful and it is worth it. Forgiveness and truth dwell together as healing happens. Forgiveness offers hope in an imperfect world.
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About Katie
From Louisville. Live in Atlanta. Curious by nature. Researcher by education. Writer by practice. Grateful heart by desire.
Buy the Book!
The Stage Is On Fire, a memoir about hope and change, reasons for voyaging, and dreams burning down can be purchased on Amazon.
As always, I feel blessed by your words and compassion. I am honored to be in your”Neearest and Dearest”! Thank you for being, and for reminding all of us who love you so much, just how fortunate we are to have you in our lives! Much Liove, Lois, Jack and Miss Dolly