"What I’ve realized is that to be a writer takes a tremendous amount of courage... Writing is a public confession."

Wow! I needed to hear these words, thank you for that gift. These sentences are now on post it's above my desk as reminders of why I do what I do. I write with a lot of candor, more than I would ever speak with. I went to a writing workshop last year and told the writer how brave I thought she was to put herself out there. She concretely replied, "I'm not brave, I'm just doing my job." She seemingly has a much thicker skin to criticism than I do. Although she is an amazing writer, I internally disagreed. For me, every time I hit "publish," I feel like I would walking out on the street naked. I'm glad you, as someone I also admire, can relate.