38 Comments

Love this, especially “The gold is in the shit.” Reminds me of Yeats, who said that “love has pitched his mansion in the place of excrement.”

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I'm so happy Jessica got to share more of her wonderful mind with us

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Fabulous! Love using "shit" to help things grow, one way or another. It's the old "if life hands you lemons, make lemonade" suggestion. As a former therapist, I used that line and similar ones because it was most often why the client/patient arrived. Life had become a little murky for one reason or another and we all appreciate seeing things more clearly with understanding why and moving ahead.

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“Does your shit feel like fertilizer?” 😂 😂 😂 I trust it will eventually. It’s still composting--in the late stage, before it can be applied to the ground without burning things. That stage, no joke, is called “curing.”

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Oct 2Liked by Jane Ratcliffe

Yo! I have always been guided by T&B, but didn't know it until some way into my seventh decade oozing around in this strange and wonderful human form. And gray is just an aspect of the wonderment. My girlfriend is just a wee few breaths behind me in time, and her 'used to be blonde' is now such a mesmerizing white-ish bright something with dark blonde streaks - do I need to say that I love it? Any way as age ripens in you I know you have a delicately tender embrace to wrap around her and all she may bring. Oh yeah, she also embraced life in the high Sierras as a young woman and if I were to see at her with another's eyes, there are wrinkles. But I just don't see anything but her. Love your essays. Be well.

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Thank you so much for a lovely interview!!

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So refreshing to get to peek into the mind and life of Jessica DeFino she is one of my favorite writers here on Substack! Thank you.

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Oct 2Liked by Jane Ratcliffe

I was also obsessed with the "angus, thongs, and full frontal snogging" series! It's such a weird gem!

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Oct 2Liked by Jane Ratcliffe

This was delightful! I want a jungian therapist!

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Love this so much

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Wow this was tremendous

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Absolutely love the simplicity, acceptance and celebration of answer 7 ❤️

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Oct 2Liked by Jane Ratcliffe

Jessica always manages to have her finger on the pulse of all things true. Loved this whole interview.

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Thanks, Jane. Humbled by your words. I did what I could with what I had where I was. Not at all sure about wisdom or brilliance, just gave it my best and still at it although in different ways. Grateful to you and for you in this good work.

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awesome

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Thanks for subscribing. Always free.

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