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Society is powered by empathy,

by an understanding that diverse lives,

goals, and perspectives deserve our consideration,

respect, and mutual protection.

This empathy is not just rooted in idealism;

it’s rooted in the fundamental truth that our shared

needs and fates outweigh our differences.

This is true for human societies.

It’s also true for our broader fellowships of life,

for Earth’s ecosystems.

Folks you have never met grow your food

and build our technologies.

Creatures you do not see create your oxygen

and enrich our soils.

It’s a dangerous failure of imagination to forget

the need we have for one another.

Empathy is wisdom.

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Sneaking up on a year since my memoir was published. Checking in on sales rankings, I'm so thrilled to see that it is still finding an audience. Thanks everyone for your kind support. [If you would like a copy, please support your local bookstore. Or for a signed copy, support MY local bookstore.]

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So far, I'm enjoying substack. If you're over there, find me (at)JarodKAnderson

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In your life, you are an explorer on the far edge of timespace operating a body that is an entirely unique configuration of some of our universe's wildest, rarest technology.

So, when you make a mistake, leave aside the language of shame and failure. It's just new data from an undiscovered bit of existence. Instead, try, "ah, fascinating." Because you are.

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Some new author photos!

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If you ever thought, “I like Jarod’s nature poetry, that guy should publish a woodsy novel involving cryptids,” then I have good news for you specifically.

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I hope every religion's heaven is real.

I hope heavens beyond religion are real, shared and bespoke.

I want people drinking in Valhalla.

I want people singing in the Klingon Black Fleet.

I want people becoming one with the voice of nature.

Humans craft identity as naturally as breathing,

they carve the ships of their lives with ornate story-work.

May that instinctual craft carry us even beyond

the limits of our bodies.

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A boot may crush a lily,

but lilies will remain long after

that boot is worn to dust.

Boots neither sprout nor root.

We may be trampled by sorrows,

but we are more lily than boot

and nature waits and whispers,

“grow and thrive again.”

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Sometimes, I read a book I wrote and think, “this book is smarter than me.”

I’m not sure how that works.

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When is the best time to whisper "so it begins" to yourself?

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The more I notice the small things that nourish me, the more energy I seem to possess.

The more energy I spend on curiosity, the easier it is to love the world.

The more I love the world, the bigger and richer my life feels.

The bigger my life feels, the more I want to share it with others.

The more I share with others, the more hopeful I become about the nature of our universe.

The more hopeful I become, the more small things seem to nourish me.

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I wear a mouthguard thing when I sleep because of teeth-grinding.

At first, I didn't like it, but I've warmed to it.

Now, when I go to bed, it's like I'm gearing up to travel to the sleep realm and box with the king of dreams!

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The first bird-ancestor to achieve flight

was just super serious about applauding

and it got out of hand.

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Learning a handful of bird songs is a way to gift your future with countless familiar voices among the trees, a chance to feel the sudden warmth of recognition each time you walk beneath the sky.

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Still a little time left to vote for Something in the Woods Loves You for the Ohio Book awards.

It just takes a sec and anyone may vote:

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It's cover reveal time!

Strange Animals is my cozy, creepy, woodsy, contemporary fantasy novel about an ordinary mind discovering a hidden world of wondrous supernatural creatures and an unexpected home.

It's a story about new beginnings, found family, meaning making, and learning to see a beautiful, strange, and hidden side of nature.

Link in my bio for preorder info!

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I couldn't feed myself or my family with my little gardens. But at least once a day, I catch myself standing at the back window smiling out on my patches of tended earth, green and growing. It's a reminder that not all nourishment is physical.