The Second-Best Residency Prep

By Jamie Beth Cohen

Being awarded a two-week residency—alone in a converted horse barn in Maine to work on my memoir in progress—was, as any writer might imagine, a dream come true. It was also a vote of confidence in my writing when I desperately needed one and, from a practical standpoint, it was a break from the daily grind of housework, kid transport, and my day job. But, like any good over-thinker, once the elation of an email that wasn’t a rejection wore off, I became obsessed with m...