Welcome! I’m glad you’re here. I’m Erin, and if there’s one thing to know about me it’s this: I love stories. As a writer, I love to tell them. As a voracious reader, I love to learn from them. On this blog, I share personal stories with the hope they might encourage and inspire you on your journey.
Books were my ticket outside of suburban Aurora, where I spent much of my childhood. Opening a novel was like stepping on a plane or a train, experiencing life in a new land with a new set of circumstances. I visited The Met for the first time thanks to From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I solved myriad mysteries alongside the Boxcar Children. I even found a character in the pages of A Wrinkle In Time whose sensitivity and longing to be liked matched mine. The passage “‘Why can’t I hide it, too?’ Meg said. ‘Why do I always have to show everything?’” roused tears of recognition.
Eventually, I began writing. I wrote poems, stories and embarrassingly detailed travelogues and journal entries. In fourth grade, I adored The Little House series and my Kirsten American Girl doll, so I penned my own pioneer tales. A seventh grade project caused me to fall in love with the art of packaging stories and dream of becoming a magazine editor. When I went to college, I majored in English and worked as a features reporter at the school newspaper. After a decade working in nonprofit communications, including seven years editing for a national niche magazine, I stepped away from full-time work to stay at home with my children. In my spare time, I continue to freelance write for various clients and publications.
No matter where I’ve landed, stories have been the place where I lost and returned to myself. Indeed you can often still find me with my nose in a book — usually of poetry, essays or fiction — or scribbling in my journal.
However, if my life could be divided into a “before” and “after,” motherhood would be the defining moment. Motherhood has broken, healed and shaped me into the person I am today, and it is often the subject of the stories I share here, along with my faith. Becoming a mother has both pushed me to wrestle with my faith and given me a lens for noticing the sacredness in the mundane.
Other things to know: I raise my two boys with my husband Jay, a robotics engineer. We live with our silly pug in an old house in Chicago. I take my coffee with a splash of cream, write exclusively with Papermate flair pens and use my planner like a security blanket (because children! also deadlines). I value heart over hustle, showing up, speaking up, authenticity and kindness. Grace and gratitude keep me grounded — daily.
I believe everyone hungers to be seen, known and loved. We all have stories to tell. You can find some of mine here, as well as links to my published writing. My prayer for this space is that you encounter words of grace and nourishment. Be sure to have a look around, and if you like what you read, subscribe to my monthly newsletter. Want to connect? Contact me here.
Erin Strybis 
1 Comment