by Emily Branden | Sep 18, 2023 | Uncategorized
My cousin’s Saguaro went down. Sixty mile an hour winds while he watched it sway in record heat temperatures. I arrived the next night, only to squint on his iPhone at the damage during a recent Arizona storm. It was the centerpiece of his Fountain Hills home,...
by Emily Branden | Apr 9, 2023 | Uncategorized
Leaving W. San left me in a state of shock. And like shock goes—I didn’t notice until I stared at the walls of my temporary spot on Marcy. East Marcy. A bit fancy for my past sixteen years down on West San Francisco Street. “End of an era…” friends chimed...
by Emily Branden | Oct 18, 2022 | Uncategorized
They say the hardest things in life, the things that almost break you are what make you. Driving twenty miles outside Scottsdale, Arizona late August and still 100 degrees, I listened to Matthew McConaughey’s book on tape. Seconding my belief in...
by Emily Branden | Oct 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
It’s been a life of catching up on summer. And Hemingway, and sunsets, and the way the light hits the pool and turns purple before dark. A season of camping and teaching in public again, and singing—on the lawn at el Rey, and Cowgirl patio, and listening to friends...
by Emily Branden | Jun 8, 2021 | Uncategorized
If you did the difficult self work of 2020, this summer may be the biggest transition of your life. I’m humbled by maintaining conversation and casual acquaintances knowing I already was narrowing my focus to a select few. It’s not that I don’t love humanity, it’s...
by Emily Branden | Dec 17, 2020 | Uncategorized
I’ve been spending my days tending fires…learning to keep the flames lit by giving it enough space and air, and kindling to keep it going. Months spent reading fiction and eating take-out from restaurants I used to dress up and go to. Only now, the fire is the...
