She’s backpacked hundreds of miles throughout Northern California’s backcountry—The John Muir Trail, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Yosemite, Sequoia, King’s Canyon, the Trinity Alps, Mount Whitney, and Mount Shasta to name a few.
Creative Nonfiction
The Keeping Room is an online magazine for all women writers, poets, and artists.
We are looking to publish your short stories, essays, free writing, poetry, and photo essays that touch on topics related to Women’s Wisdom, Lessons Learned, Self-care, Bodies, Relationships, and Community.
Writers selected for publication will be paid $25
Vacated Lawn Chairs by Miriam Bat-Ami
Since my husband’s death in March of 2020, I’ve gotten into the habit of counting chairs on front porches and lawns, in backyards and around firepits, vacated seats suggesting a grouping of two or more…
Common Ground by Barbara Felton
“Am I supposed to give you lunch?”
My sister’s question laid bare our mutual uncertainty about how to understand my visit.
Italian Grandmothers Shared My Pregnancy by Deborah Clark Vance
My morning queasiness, motion sickness, fatigue, bloated abdomen, two missed periods—heck, even my shrinking pants—were telling me, in fact screaming, that I was pregnant
So Loved by Judy Richardson
At first, my throat scratched a bit, maybe because I had been talking or laughing too much at the party, a lively celebration, stocked with tributes, a slide show, drinks, and food.
It’s Not Funny: Facing My Laughing Lies by Michelle Goering
I was in Trader Joe’s on a Tuesday morning. I’d coasted to a stop in the middle of the aisle and was staring at the salty snack options…
Suzie by Carol Ovenburg
Modern dance is on my mind when Suzie taps my shoulder and introduces herself. My second semester junior year of high school …
Grow through the Narrow Spots by Barbara Rady Kazdan
Decades ago, I saw this message on a poster: “Grow through the Narrow Spots. Change is Inevitable - Growth is...
8 Healthy Ways to Lose Weight After A C-Section Remember: You’re Still Healing by Summer A.H. Christiansen
Be patient with your body. Take time to understand what it has gone through and know that your body will forever be ruined.
Friending My Brother by Michelle Goering
I have a testy relationship with Facebook. I ignore it for weeks, then come back for the dopamine hits when friends read what I’ve written…
I Think I’m Better Looking by Joylyn Chai
…than I actually am. I dared to have an open discussion about this for the first time a few weeks ago.