Author Archives: janishaag

About janishaag

Writer, writing coach, editor

Gratitudinous

Posted on November 23, 2016 by janishaag

Whaaa? you say? C’mon, you’re an English teacher, for heaven’s sake, Jan. You can’t just make up words like that. And I would tell you this: Sure, you can. That’s the fun of playing with words. Writers do it all … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 20 Comments

Fumbling in the dark

Posted on November 12, 2016 by janishaag

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. —Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Searching for the light switch, fumbling in the dark, thinking, not again, the dark, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 22 Comments

this simple learning

Posted on August 7, 2016 by janishaag

comes in a bright yellow tin box left behind by a Japanese woman who lived in America for half a century, a naturalized citizen who remained stubbornly Japanese all her 86 years, who allowed her body, near the end, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Annie update: a month at (her forever) home

Posted on August 2, 2016 by janishaag

I lie awake in a trundle bed next to Annie, listening for her in the dark. As she sleeps, she periodically cries out as if she’s hurting, and when I rise to look at her (as her mama does many … Continue reading →

Posted in Bringing Annie Home | 20 Comments

Those who made me

Posted on July 31, 2016 by janishaag

We all want to share our birthdays with inspiring people, those we look up to, admire for their talents or brilliance. This is why I have have never been eager to admit that my birthday falls on the same day … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

To the Chinese mother…

Posted on July 26, 2016 by janishaag

…who gave up a daughter found under an overpass in Changsha, Hunan province, May 22, 2009 She will never know the name you gave her or the date you pushed her into the world, though deep in her cells she … Continue reading →

Posted in Bringing Annie Home | 14 Comments

You’re never fully dressed without a smile

Posted on July 25, 2016 by janishaag

(21st in the Annie series) Sure, “Tomorrow” is one of her “Annie” songs, but it was not until I came home and looked at all the photos that I realized Annie’s real theme song might be this one. Just look … Continue reading →

Posted in Bringing Annie Home | 9 Comments

Going home

Posted on July 24, 2016 by janishaag

(#20 in the Annie series) I want to be one of those people on an airplane who plugs in earphones, clamps a U-shaped pillow around the back of their necks and dozes off instantly. Without even reclining the seat … Continue reading →

Posted in Bringing Annie Home | 7 Comments

High tea

Posted on July 23, 2016 by janishaag

(#19 in the Annie series) I love when Nikki said, “We’re going to high tea at the Ritz Carlton,” that she really meant HIGH tea. Not just a fancy, three-tiers-of-goodies kind of tea, but on the 103rd floor of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bringing Annie Home | 3 Comments

Playing tourist

Posted on July 22, 2016 by janishaag

(#18 in the Annie series) So on this trip, in two-and-a-half weeks, we have experienced more forms of transportation than I have ridden on during any other fortnight in my life. By its end we will have traveled by: (big … Continue reading →