Tag: women writers

Press Through & Rest Through

Around this time a year ago, I was slowly beginning to reclaim my time, after experiencing daily headaches for most of 2022.

Can I tell you how grateful I am at this juncture to read, write, travel, have fun and chillax at my own pace, through God’s grace?

So as I prep for some exciting opportunities this fall – and yes – some of them include writing projects – I don’t take for granted that each day and each experience is a gift.

People say I stay busy, but trust me – I “stay resting” and meditating, too, and it has helped me continue to grow and glow.

Wherever you find yourself on your life’s journey in this season, listen to your heart, your spirit and your body.

Press your way when called for,

Rest your way when called for,

and understand that both are necessary and helpful.

And when those seasons of doing and dancing and planning return, never forget what you’ve been through, because it makes where you’re going all the more special.

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Focus Forward

Can you believe there’s just over 4 months left in 2023? Make the most of this day, this week and the seasons ahead.

You matter and so does what you choose to embrace.

Lean into what feeds your soul and forgive yesterday’s troubles.

Choose joy and focus forward.

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Who is this Season Calling You to Be?

My meditation and writing time one morning last week yielded this gem for the main character in the fiction I’m writing, and I have to share, because it’s a word for us, too:


Sometimes we have to give up who we once were, or how we’ve always done something, in order to embrace who we’re meant to be in THIS season. What worked for you a decade ago, or maybe even a year ago, was for that stage, age or chapter.

Stacy Hawkins Adams


So keep learning and leading and loving.
Get excited about your present, and for what’s to come, because now you get a chance to write your next chapters with the clarity, confidence and intention that will be relevant for what the world needs now, and for the purpose and peace that are your birthright.

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Video: A Women’s History Month Offering for You, Celebrating You

Hi there – it’s been a while!

I hadn’t intended to stay away from this blog for so long, but here we are, in mid-March, with many of us preparing to spring our clocks forward in honor of the U.S.’s Daylight Savings Time mandate and to welcome the looming change in seasons accompanied by longer days, warmer winds and sunnier skies.

I’m here with a smile in my heart, after giving myself some space and time to grieve the death of my brother during the Christmas holiday season; to appreciate a return to better health after a challenging year, and to sit with my thoughts and in prayer to determine which projects from my Dreams & Goals List to focus on in 2023.

My novel-in-progress has remained atop that list, and I’m earnestly revising my completed first draft. I’ve also been supporting an author friend by championing his amazing body of work, which continues to resonate with readers of all ages – from children to seasoned citizens. Thank you, Kwame Alexander, for taking me on the journey with you. I’m learning at your feet as you do the work of changing the world, one word at a time.

I’ve continued to mentor a small band of writers who are members of my online Focused Writers Community. Last month, we celebrated the first anniversary of the anthology On Womanhood that we jointly published in 2022. This book is still resonating with readers of all ages and stages, and for that we are grateful.

Today, I’m delighted to celebrate the power of women and our stories as we settle into Women’s History Month, by sharing with you one of my signature events – a storytelling brunch I hosted in fall 2022: Still We Rise: Celebrating the Power of Women’s Stories.

If you’ll invest your time to watch (solo or with a group of friends!) I hope you will savor all that is expressed and end the experience changed for the better. May the truths and aha moments offered during the program help your heart open, your courage rise, your empathy grow and your understanding (of self and others) multiply. For you are a pearl in progress and your story is worthy celebrating, too. Onward!

Stacy Hawkins Adams (center) featured with speakers and presenters at her October 2022 brunch, Still We Rise: Celebrating the Power of Women’s Stories

What Loss Can Teach Us About Living

Someone I care about entered hospice a few days ago, beginning a process that is both dignity-rendering, yet leaking with sadness.

Only our Creator knows the exact time left, but this person would want no pity, and if possible, would be cracking jokes and setting you straight on your attitude and actions at every turn, with declarations that life is to be enjoyed and celebrated.

With that in mind, I issue this Wednesday Wisdom to:

Love on yourself more, just because. 

Tell others what they mean to you while you can (I have and I regularly do).

Cry when you feel like it.

Laugh every chance you get.

Forget about yesterday’s grudges. 

Love those who love you back.

Be kind to those whose rudeness often means they need more kindness.

Challenge yourself to leave everyone better than you found them – with what you say and what you don’t; by how you share and where you set boundaries; and by giving with no expectation of receiving.

Let your heart break. The only way through grief is through. 

Say Thank You for everything – because every breath, every day, and every person who crosses your path is in some way a gift.

Hello, Albuquerque – Remember Me?

It’s wonderful when life comes full circle, and my visit to Albuquerque, New Mexico last month to attend a Women’s Fiction Writers retreat was one of those occasions.

Thirty years ago, in the summer of 1992, I spent six weeks in ABQ interning for the city’s now-defunct morning newspaper, The Albuquerque Tribune. I lived near Old Towne with two sisterfriends who shared a house – Cathryn McGill, a renowned singer, songwriter and actress turned black leadership entrepreneur, and Pamela K. Johnson, a then-reporter at the Tribune turned author and filmmaker.

Pamela has since moved back to her native California where she continues to write for numerous national publications (Hey, Pam!) while Cathy remains in ABQ and continues to contribute to the community and the arts in a myriad of ways. She and I met for breakfast while I was in town and traded updates about life and goals as if time had never passed.

Stories abound! And as one of my mentors always says, Just keep living and life will keep giving.

Stacy on NBC12: Why Storytelling Matters

Thank you to the Richmond-based NBC 12 news station for interviewing me earlier this week about the power in sharing stories (and for serving as the media sponsor for my October 22 inspirational brunch for women).

Good news, Friends!

If you’re interested in securing a ticket to my sold-out event (Still We Rise: Celebrating the Power of Women’s Stories), you can visit NBC12.com and enter to win 2 tickets that were reserved for this giveaway. The opportunity to win is open now through Oct. 12, 2022. Search for “brunch giveaway” when you visit the website.

In the meantime, enjoy my interview about the ways we all can celebrate the power of stories, day in and day out. (Click on the image below to view or visit the link in the photo caption).

https://tinyurl.com/StacyonNBC

Timeless Truths: Why I Write

The countdown is on for Still We Rise: Celebrating the Power of Women’s Stories!

In about three weeks, a group of amazing women (and one gentleman) will join me in gracing the stage at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden to pour from our hearts and inspire everyone present to embrace their journeys and value others’ stories, too.

My co-organizers and I met for two hours this morn to discuss the final details (and to settle my nerves!), and I left that Zoom session all the more excited about what we’re birthing.

So although my October 22 inspirational brunch is sold out, as often as I can throughout this month, I’ll share some timeless inspiration from my 2014 brunch that can still offer encouragement and hope.

Today’s offering is the keynote message I shared in 2014 with brunch attendees, and I share it again, because it’s all still true:

Words hold power.

Fiction and nonfiction can tranform lives.

I am honored to be a vessel.

I continue to write forward – not necessarily at my pace, but at the one that is ordained for me.

Enjoy!

#LifeUntapped#powerofwomensstories#brunchwithstacy

Keep You-ing You

Here’s a weekend reminder to

keep being you,

loving you,

honoring your purpose,

feeding your soul,

protecting your peace,

speaking your truths, and

finding joy in your journey.

When you “do you” and give of your authentic self with an open heart, you’ll light up the world and

make a measurable difference

through every life you touch.

Think Like Serena, Act Like You

Serena (no last name needed) shared in the inspiring remarks she gave during her post-game celebration last night that she hopes her journey from the tough streets of Compton, California to the world’s stage has inspired little girls everywhere to dream and do. It has indeed.

Just know that you hold that same power. You may be touching people around you who may never tell you, and/or transforming the lives of those you may never meet.

How? By being the best at being you. And being yourself with an authentic mix of boldness, humility, enthusiasm and purpose.

So just be you. Do you.

Choose to enjoy your journey.

In living your life fully, you’ll help others rise to their own occasion.