“I think everything that I really love about myself either stems from or leads to a creative place. And using my creativity is the thing that keeps me sane in a way. The anxiety that can sometimes haunt me completely falls away in those moments.” – Dawn Khosravi-Amos
It’s publication week for my debut novel, which comes on the heels of a wonderful but light-on-sleep girlfriend trip to Portugal, and I have been feeling a deep need for quiet corners. My husband David found me on Tuesday morning—publication day—holed up on the couch in my basement office, lights off, heated rice bag on my lap, mug of tea on the table beside me. He made the grave mistake of asking if he should turn on the lights—a shock my sensitive nervous system was not prepared for.
I’ve been feeling a pull to go inward after all of the outward I’ve been doing. And I haven’t even had a book event yet.
, author of the excellent and narrative-changing book FAT TALK, about which I’ve been emailing friend after friend, wrote a post recently called “Is Introvert Burnout a Thing?”It certainly is for me. And for many of us introverts who create, I think being out there in the world promoting or selling our work can be a prime driver of burnout.
I’ve been turning back this week to two books that feel like friends—QUIET by Susan Cain, about the power of introverts in a country that prizes extroversion, and THE HIGHLY SENSITIVE PERSON by Elaine N. Aron, about how to thrive when the world overwhelms you. Both give voice to what I intuitively know about myself but at times have difficulty honoring.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to celebrate and dance and connect. And it’s a special kind of joy to connect over a book I spent years creating. I also need quiet corners to retreat. The more time I spend out in the world, the more time I need to spend recharging.
Which brings me to Dawn’s beautiful interview last week and her thoughts on the usefulness—really, the necessity—of finding creative outlets in times of anxiety and overwhelm. I am inspired by how many different outlets Dawn has found to ground her in the anxious season of early motherhood. The mode of creating is so much less important than the doing of it. Creative work is tuning out the noise—or as she put it, becoming that neutral being.
Another piece of our interview that struck a deep chord was Dawn’s insight that creativity is not just helpful; it’s a channel for the same anxious energy that can have us feeling depleted. The Deepak Chopra line Dawn quoted has this exactly right: “The best use of imagination is creativity. The worst use of imagination is anxiety.”
This week, perched in my favorite couch nook, I’ve found one thing really helpful in grappling with the “out there” of reviews and social media posts and trying not to doubt myself at every turn: listening to music with crystal clear female vocals and story lines that make the corners of my eyes tear up. Once the music has settled my mind enough, I can return—even if I only have five minutes for it—to the quiet practice of making things.
My book launch is this Sunday in Denver (https://logansteiner.com/events/). I’ll be in conversation with two favorite local author friends, and there most certainly will be DANCING. After which, you know where to find me.
Dear reader: You matter! If you’ve found this post interesting or meaningful, I’d love to hear from you—you can reach me at hello@logansteiner.com. And, if you know someone who’d like to read this newsletter, please pass it along. You can also support by clicking “like,” posting a comment, or gifting a subscription.