What really happened on May 17, 1974?
On May 17, 1974, more than 400 police officers surrounded a house at 1466 E. 54th St. in south-central Los Angeles. …
Author Archives: rachaelhanel
5 reasons to love a road trip
A recent 1,600-mile road trip took me to six states, three of which I hadn’t traveled to before (Indiana, Ohio, …
How do you work? Cluttered or clean?
I find this quote attributed most often to Albert Einstein. My home space is cluttered, and my mind definitely feels …
The beauty of persistence
Back before I had a book to my name, I would see published authors and feel this intense need/want to …
Some thoughts after watching “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Chicago, 1968. I finally watched “The Trial of the Chicago 7” last night. Initial thoughts: Those young people were so …
Who cares what I write?
This passage caused me to pause and reflect. I get wrapped up in my own writing; of course it’s interesting …
Do you succumb to envy?
This essay by Erika Schickel in L.A. Observed received some flack when it first came out years ago. In the …
Happy birthday, Camilla
This is Camilla Hall. Today would have been her 76th birthday. She was an artist, a social worker, a gardener, …
What some writers have in common with the Backstreet Boys
I heard a conversation the other day regarding the relationship between writers and their readers (aka the “audience”). And this …
How to generate ideas for memoir
Photo Credit: MarkGregory007 Flickr via Compfight cc I distinctly remember writing an essay in a writing workshop and then thinking, …
