In this month’s Story Sparks, Jane reflects on the recent newsletter changes and the small challenges that come with learning new things. She honors a remarkable teacher during Women’s History Month, shares upcoming events for the release of With the Enduring Tides, recommends a thoughtful new novel, and tells the touching story of a birthday discovery.

A return to the Sea of Cortez brings humor, memory, and an unexpected sense of peace, as grief softens into something gentler and more enduring. Alongside reflections on love, loss, and intention, there is book news to celebrate—With the Enduring Tides on the horizon and a glimpse ahead to Beyond the Breaking Waves. It’s a reminder to notice what arrives unannounced: beauty, connection, and the quiet ways light still finds us.

This reflection weaves poetry, memory, and gratitude as Jane navigates early grief after Jerry’s death—holding sorrow and hope together. Through small kindnesses, shared stories, writing, faith, and community, she honors love that endures, learns to live beyond “hanging in there,” and carries forward a life shaped by devotion, creativity, and the quiet power of tending oneself while remembering deeply.

A teenage promise made on a hot summer day at the county fair ended in a hospital room and a doctor’s hard-earned wisdom. Keeping one’s word shapes character, but life eventually teaches that honoring our limits and tending ourselves is not breaking a promise—it’s keeping one that truly matters.

In Mary’s country, I met readers, shared stories, and felt the deep joy of connection. From cupcakes to courageous women, from salt air to signing books beside poet Dana Huneke-Stone, June was a celebration of resilience, reading, and community. Thank you for making the “select group” of readers a little smaller.

A weathered chair, a curious child, and a shared book reminded me: stories invite us to pause, connect, and heal. In celebrating parents who read to their children, we honor the power of story to unveil mystery—inside pages, and within ourselves. May your next read reveal something beautiful.