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On Substack

melissaannekuipers

Hi friends, readers, and the occasional bot,

Just a quick post to say I’m on Substack now, and if you’re interested in my writing, I’d be happy to have you subscribe to my newsletter there.

I’ll be posting essays, contemplations on life, updates, and such–hopefully weekly. Here’s an excerpt from my first post there:

“A little about me

I spend most of my time these days writing and parenting. I have a collection of short stories called The Whole Beautiful World, published with Touchwood Editions, and I have a bunch of stories, personal essays, articles and spiritual writing published online. (You can read some of the spiritual writing at Christian Century and Christian Courier.)

I am an avid maker and when I don’t have two kids climbing all over me (and sometimes when I do), I am usually making bread, crocheting, making polymer jewelry, painted erasure poetry, or taking on something new I don’t have time for. If you see a lady dressed in floral and picking dead dandelions, it’s probably me. Feel free to remind me I’ll probably never get around to weaving them into a summer hat, but in my hubris, I won’t believe you (although the dry stems dangling from the wall will).

I also sing all manner of things and am a musical theatre geek.

White woman in a straw hat and white Victorian style blouse, staring at the camera
Me as a lady of Avonlea in Anne of Green Gables

A timely bit

Over the last year I’ve been thinking a lot about a year I spent in the woods of Texas over half a lifetime ago. I’ve been reading through my journals from that time (yes, it’s painful), reading through class notes, and reflecting a lot on what to make of this internship with the largest evangelical youth ministry of its time, on what it meant to me and what its impacts were on my early adulthood (and mid-adulthood if I’m honest with myself).

And then a little over a week ago, the trailer dropped for Shiny Happy People season 2, announcing that this next season of Amazon Prime’s most watched docuseries would be focusing on the very youth ministry I’ve been thinking a lot about.

So for the next few weeks, perhaps months, I’ll be posting some reflections on the docuseries, on the impacts of Teen Mania in North America, and mostly, in my own life. I’m hoping that these posts can create a space for people to process some of their experiences, to reflect with others with deep compassion and care, and, if needed, learn from other people’s journeys of spiritual healing.”

To read more and subscribe, click here.

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Review of two memoirs about Christian Patriarchy

melissaannekuipers

I wrote a review in Christian Courier examining two memoirs from women who escaped communities marked by Christian patriarchy. One is by Shannon Bonne, ex-wife of the best-selling author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, and the other by writer Cait West. Cait’s book Rift is especially lyrical, grounding her experiences in poetic explorations of the places that have been home for her. Shannon’s tone in The Woman They Wanted sounds like a big sister passing along her life experiences and affirming the reader that they deserve the freedom and validation she eventually found.

“Reading these two memoirs felt like meeting someone at a party who went to the same weird summer camp. I haven’t lived their experiences, but I recognize the insider language, the obscure references, the kinds of charismatic people who pull you into their vision of a better life based on an idealized past. I’ve known the same failed promises that if you follow the formula (a formula that doesn’t occur in scripture), you will get rewarded with the best marriage and love life you can imagine, only to find that the formula itself creates dysfunction and heartbreak.”

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Hamilton Short Works Prize

melissaannekuipers

I’m honored to have been awarded first place in Non-Fiction from the Hamilton Short Works Prize. The prize is granted each year for a piece of writing by a Hamilton author published the previous year in a literary journal or magazine. You can read my entry “Little Mother”, published in Room Magazine in 2022, and the other winners and honorable mentions here.

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Advent Writing

melissaannekuipers

I’ve neglected this blog for a while, not because I haven’t had any writing happening, but because just life. Anyway, I have the privilege of having a few Advent-themed pieces published this month: an article in the Christian Century entitled “Mary’s special child and mine,” where I write about being told my child might be the Messiah; and a prayer in the Christian Courier entitled “Rest.” Both are currently accessible online and in print (though will probably only be online for a limited time).

May you have a restful Advent with many opportunities to ponder.

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Parenting on a Planet in Pain

melissaannekuipers

I’m honoured to have an article in the recent issue of Christian Century. It contains reflections on kids and their perception of animals, parenting in a climate crisis, and postpartum depression. Read more here.

“After the birth of each of my children, I found myself experiencing an overwhelming combination of guilt and despair. I would look into their tiny faces and ask, “How do I share with you the brokenness of this world? How do I bring you into its deep cruelty without dampening your joy?” I couldn’t bear the grief at the incongruity between their sweetness and the world in which that sweetness had to walk. Over time the depression lessened, but I still, even today, find myself hovering between trying to shield my children from this world’s pain and sharing with them the reality of the world.”