Award-winning writer. Friend of ambitious people living with limitations.

My name is Esmé (pronounced EZ-may). I’m a writer. My debut novel, The Border of Paradise, has received accolades and kind words from places such as LitHub, NPR Books, and the Chicago Review of Books; I was selected by Granta for their once-a-decade Best of Young American Novelists list of 21 authors under 40; in 2018 I received the prestigious Whiting Award. I write essays that have been published in the Believer, Catapult, The New Inquiry, Lenny, Hazlitt, and Salon, and am working on a collection of essays about schizophrenia for Graywolf Press, which is the result of having won the 2016 Graywolf Nonfiction Prize. I write short stories, one of which was selected for Best American Short Stories 2018. And I create work here that I hope will help you on your creative journey, including a workbook-and-audio program about creating from one’s obsessions and themes (find that in the Shop).

This website is the place to be if you want to know more about my literary life—links to pieces I’ve published, information about my novel and forthcoming essay collection, dates for forthcoming literary events, press clips, and so forth. Dig in.

But… you can also find me at The Unexpected Shape, where I provide resources for ambitious people living with limitations to build resilience, excellence, and legacy. I offer a free series of emails called Encouragement Notes, as well as entry into a supportive, thriving Facebook group made up of fascinating and resilient people of all sorts. A popular workshop has become a short, sweet, and effective email course, A**-Kicking with Limitations. My signature online course, Rawness of Remembering, is a much-loved program that teaches the skills needed for restorative journaling through difficult times.

Hop on over to The Unexpected Shape, or stay a while here. Do both! Either way: welcome.

 

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P.S. To find links to articles about me and podcasts I’ve been on, as well as media-ready photographs and contact information, please visit the Press page.

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I’d love to stay in touch with you.

For from-the-heart letters about life, resilience, and creativity, sign up for With Love & Squalor. Each letter also contains links to excellent writing from around the web, a collection of Five [Extraordinary] Words, and occasional discounts and previews of upcoming works and creations. Signing up will also nab you the Productivity Journaling with Limitations e-book, a nifty tool to help you dive into analogue planning while living with limitations.

Instagram

  • One of the best things in the world: this sweet girl cuddling with me (more specifically, sai-nai for all you Taiwanese speakers) as I do my morning journaling-with-tea. #nothingisordinary #morningslikethese #pwljournal
  • My newest portrait of some dogs who are not pets—Flame, the white Alaskan husky, is a working sled dog, & the puppy will likely be a sled dog as well. • I’m still taking pet portrait requests! $250 for a 8x10 watercolor commission in a style like this one. Get in touch via DM if you’re interested. #petportrait #adoptdontshop #dogstagram #catsofinstagram #petportraits
  • I read at the Writers with Drinks event last night; I went up last out of six writers. I'd spent some time in the audience worrying about how I could manage the mic stand, my phone, & my cane—in the end, I ended up sitting on a ledge onstage. I don't know how many people could see me, but I read my heart out. ✨ ✨ Reading in front of an audience is one of my favorite things to do. & someday, I'd like to have a speaking agent and give talks around the country—I've done some of that, including speaking in front of thousands at the World Domination Summit—but it would be fun to do more. ✨ ✨ What gets in the way of me actively pursuing that is my fear that my health is still too unstable. I felt pretty good yesterday, but what if I was still going through the dysautonomic crash I was going through a few days ago? Would I be able to pull myself through? ✨ ✨ These are the things I ponder as an ambitious person living with limitations; I've been thinking about this a lot as I work on redesigning my website (& laying down the groundwork for a **group coaching program**) and as I have lots of phone conversations with self-defined ambitious people living with limitations. And, by the way, a quick reminder that the hashtag #encouragerssociety is for you and me to use for posts related to being ambitious & limited (by illness, disability, life circumstance, caretaking responsibilities, etc.). Thank you all for your support thus far. More magic to come. . . Photo by @jacquelyntierney. Be Brave decal by @heidibraids.
  • A man, his dog, & THE INCENDIARIES by @ro.kwon, coming out July 31st nationwide. #bookstagram #theincendiaries #riverheadbooks
  • While sitting & waiting for my breakfast order at @douglasonsanchez, I’ve been longing to casually pop a raspberry or two into my mouth: jeweled & summer-struck.
  • (Photo by @jacquelyntierney) My sweetest, sweetest girl.
  • (Photo by @jacquelyntierney) I spent the morning in bed listening to @local_milk’s new podcast episode—Raw Milk (@rawmilkpodcast) is the name of her brilliant podcast, which is relatively new but already one of my favorites—in which she interviewed artist @rebekkaseale. A large part of the interview was about infertility. • I don't talk much publicly about not having children (the story behind it is most thoroughly explored in my forthcoming book, in an essay called "The Choice of Children"), but I was so grateful to be able to hear Rebekka's story & then to get to explore her art through her IG feed. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, have a listen to Raw Milk. & a hearty THANK YOU to Beth & Rebekka for the work that you do.
  • Woke up chilly & sweating & sore-throated & panicky. Time for tea & bone broth, favorite podcasts on repeat, & rest. 🤒
  • I think this is my new author photo. & the best part about it, for sure, is that Daphne is involved. (Photo credit: @jacquelyntierney) (Dress: @elizsuzann, vintage cardigan: @archiverie) #elizabethsuzann

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