This time of year always reminds me how traditions, whether decorating a tree, cooking a shared meal, or unwrapping gifts, act as subtle threads stitching past to present. Not every family memory is warm, yet even the difficult ones shape the stories we carry. When we pause to remember where we came from, we’re better…

As part of the Seattle Arts & Lectures series, Patti Smith spoke about her newest memoir, Bread of Angels. I’ve admired her for years: her poetry, her vision, and her unwavering intention to speak her truth through verse and music. Most of all, I admire her courage. There was something profoundly comforting about her presence: unguarded,…