If You’re New Here, Here’s Where to Start

A few posts about grief, betrayal, weird mental connections, and the occasional first-world meltdown.

Some of you are new here (thank you!), so I wanted to share a few posts that give a sense of what I write about.

I wrote a novel, You Seriously Don’t Want to Know, and I’m currently seeking literary representation. I’ve shared the first chapter here, along with a few stand-alone chapters I posted to get feedback.

You Seriously Don’t Want to Know, Chapter One The opening chapter of my novel. https://www.ejdonovanbooks.com/p/the-dog-the-street-and-the-sky?lli=1

I Chose This Life? A personal piece about trying to make sense of life, grief, and some of the terrible things that happen in it. https://www.ejdonovanbooks.com/p/i-chose-this-life?lli=1

I Didn’t Want to Talk About It A piece about childhood grief, and about something I did as a kid that stayed with me. https://open.substack.com/pub/katekara/p/i-didnt-want-to-talk-about-it?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=179nz2

I also write observational pieces drawn from my life, memory, and the strange connections my mind makes.

Take a Bow About feeling foolish for believing people who were clearly performing all along. https://www.ejdonovanbooks.com/p/take-a-bow?lli=1

The Sympathy Card A letter to a friend of fifteen years who lied to me, watched me lose my job, and then sent a sympathy card when my stepmother died. I threw it out. https://www.ejdonovanbooks.com/p/the-sympathy-card?lli=1

Ode to Chuck A letter to the boss I worked for for seven years, who had me train his girlfriend as my backup, then gave her my job and let me get laid off without hesitation. https://www.ejdonovanbooks.com/p/ode-to-chuck?lli=1

The Cleaning Lady A piece about first-world problems, misplaced emotion, and the strange way grief can attach itself to people without warning. https://www.ejdonovanbooks.com/p/the-cleaning-lady?lli=1

Was It Really About the Wasabi Peas? A piece about being a total Karen at the office, first-world problems, and the absurdity of a corporate machine that can handle transactions in milliseconds but can’t keep almond milk stocked.

https://www.ejdonovanbooks.com/p/was-it-really-about-the-wasabi-peas

If any of these sound like your kind of thing, I’m really glad you found me.