Lisa Jakub's Blog, page 3

“To be completely honest…”

“I hate thatphrase — ‘to be completely honest.’ Why do people say that? As if I want you to lie to me.”

My friend was saying this as he and I were sitting at an outdoor bar that has swings instead of seats. We were trying to solve the problems of the world over beer and french fries. So why dopeople start off this way when they are about to admit something difficult about their lives?

It does seem like a silly caveat, but of course there is a reason wefeel the need to ramp up like that. We li...

I would rather fail than quit

I found myself saying this last night during an online book club for my memoir You Look Like That Girl. I truly believe that when westop fearing failure – incredible things can happen.

Failure is not the end of the story.

Failure is necessary.

So, if there is something you’ve been waiting to do – that book you want to write, that business you want to start, that person you want to talk to – do it.

Let go of that voice that says you don’t have a story to tell and you don’t have the right and...

Burn it up: impermanence and playing with fire

I was talking to a friend about how much I like to burn my writing.

I don’t burn it all the time, but when it’s something I feel like I need to release, it’s incredibly powerful cathartic ritual. That got me thinking about a wedding I attended two years ago.

I didn’t want to go to the wedding because I had nothing to wear.

It’s humiliating to admit that. It’s such a frivolous, stereotypical girl excuse. I’d been to a million weddings, but nothing quite like this.There were going to be a lot o...

Embrace Your Weird event tonight in Virginia

Hi all,

I’m thrilled to be giving a talk tonight in Charlottesville, Virginia. The event is called Embrace Your Weird: from Anxiety to Authenticity and it’s based on the new book that I am writing. There is evena whole fancy Power Point thingy.

Many of us are afraid to talk about anxiety, depression and panic attacks – it’s about time we change that. This talk is a deeply personal exploration of mental health, told with compassion and humor. It’s a hopeful, entertaining and enlightening look...

Pausing for Memorial Day

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend full of flags and barbecues andbeer.

I also hope you are able to take a moment to acknowledge the meaning of the day – a reminderto think ofthose who died serving this country.

I always had respect for American military holidays, but they felt a little removed to me. I am Canadian, I don’t have family in the military and I’m not sure that I’ve ever spent much time with a veteran before.

Until last weekend.

I went to Texas to teach a writing class...

You Look Like That Girl: Personalized/signed books on sale!

Photo credit: Louise Fell

You can now get signed and personalized copies of my memoir, You Look Like That Girl, for a reduced price! Get one for yourself, or it makes a thoughtful gift for literary cats like Jasmine, here.

Click herefor all the details. International shipping is available!

Thanks, as always, for all the support. I couldn’t do any of this without you.

with love,

~Lisa

Why I will do yoga until the day I die

Yeah, I know. That’s a big statement. Especially for me.

I can have some bandwagon tendencies. I jump on and ride along for about six months until a more interesting wagon rolls on by. For a while,thought I needed to buy a potter’s wheel, I looked for apartments to rentin South Africa and went through a phase where thought I really needed to be able to read hieroglyphs.

This is different. Yogais a keeper. This is a lifelong practice for me and if I ever stop doing it, someone needs to kick my...

New online memoir writing class – just posted!

Gracie, preparing her teaching assistant duties for class

I’m teaching another session of my online memoir writing class though Writing Pad!

The class is for writers of all levels. If you have never written more than a grocery list, that’s cool. If you have a couple books under your belt, that’s cool, too. I’ve got you covered. We’ll do interestingexercises, read wonderfulwriters, and talk a whole lot about books, process and structure. Youwill also have the chance to share your writing and g...

How to live in the world: tips for the anxious, the introverts, and other sensitive souls

There are a bunch of people over there and they’re going to make me do the small talk, I just know it…

I am a person who gets easily overwhelmed by the world.

The snap of the shampoo bottle lid is too loud and startles me every time so I have to unscrew the lid which takes forever and spills shampoo everywhere. Last Thanksgiving I read a book about the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 and my dismay almost ruined our entireholiday. We have dimmers in every room of our house because anything ov...

Virginia Festival of the Book

I am so honored to be involved with the Virginia Festival of the Book this year!

My event is called Walking Away From Life in the Fast Lane – I’ll be doing a reading from You Look Like That Girl as well as answeringquestions and singing books.

Join me Wednesday, March 16th at 2pm at City Space and let’s nerd out about books!