The Leaving Season Postcard Project was born out of my love for postcards and a suspicion that we are all leaving things, all the time. If you’d like to send me a postcard, please check out this link for instructions.
“I dropped my hope to be INVISIBLE…”
After the earth crumbled below my foundation, I searched the water’s edge. Oyster shells cracked open stench and bile. Tranquil waves ebbed away until my exhale finally dissipated. I dropped my hope to be INVISIBLE and dismissive of my needs. No small feat. Resounding relief was on the menu at the Landfall Restaurant.
I chose a vacation-type postcard from Long Island for this project because I believe in the power of place. Long Island is intrinsically linked to my own story (my first book, Welcome to Shirley: A Memoir From an Atomic Townis about my LI hometown, and the last third of The Leaving Seasontakes place on this island, too). I liked the idea of handing these postcards out and having them return back to LI, to my little postbox, a reverse Wish You Were Here.
So many folks have sent me their own postcards and I love seeing these choices! The first I received was this one, an image of a waterfront restaurant with a message about walking on the very beach shown in the photo. I wanted to climb into this boat in the image, push off from the beach and feel the way this writer described, leaving unhelpful ideas of self behind on the shore. That this feeling is wrapped up in a place means they can return here whenever they need a reminder, feel those oyster shells cracking beneath their feet.
What versions of yourself have you left behind? Send me a postcard and tell me! Message me below for more details.
