What Lights me up when everything feels heavy?

Talk2Think

What Lights me up when everything feels heavy?

by | Jun 17, 2026 | Talk2Think

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What lights me up when everything feels heavy?

I’m in a caregiving season right now.

My niece Naomi is 45, living with an intellectual disability while facing metastatic breast cancer. I’m her person. My mom, Janet, is 90, sharp as ever, and we live together. My days are filled with coordinating, advocating, watching, and loving—leaving little time to simply be Kelly for a moment.

All kinds of it. Light, hopeful stories by Heather Webb — the kind set in the South about families and second chances, where you just know it’s going to be okay.
Historical fiction that opens my mind — like Skylark, about 17th-century women fabric dyers fighting for creative freedom, mirrored against a WWI occupation story set in the same Paris neighborhood. The contrast is so captivating. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And I want to go there!
And The Women of Château Lafayette, which sent me deep into the story of the Marquis de Lafayette and his role in American independence. I didn’t know half of what I learned.
That’s the other thing about good historical fiction. It gets me googling.
I’ll be mid-chapter and suddenly I’m looking up buttonwood trees at 11pm. Or reading about 18th century French aristocracy. Or following some rabbit hole about women’s rights in 1664. The books open doors and I walk through and suddenly I’m curious about the world in a way that feels like a little gift.
Fiction is how I remember I’m a whole person, not just a caregiver. It lights me up. It keeps me curious. It takes me on little trips without me having to pack anything.
I’m curious about you. What’s lighting you up right now? I’d love to know.
With love from my reading/listening chair,

Kelly

P.S. Come share what’s lighting you up in Athena Village. I’d love to hear!
P.P.S. Athena Village is where conversations like this continue. Learn more here.
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Written by Kelly Pratt

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