S1E14 - Excerpts from "Rise" section of "the skies are full of us" by Sarah Carter and Corinne Shark

After the "Ruin" section of "the skies are full of us" comes "Rise" - the place where Sarah and Corinne lift their eyes and begin pushing up from the ashes of their former selves. 

Corinne reads from her "desert muse" chapter: 
...The desert air is thick with a femininity I’ve never noticed. Gorgeous blooms burst from every branch and stem, colors both subtle, like the palest pink of a flowering ironwood, and wildly audacious, like the fuchsia fruit of a prickly pear. Wildlife flutters and soars and scampers and slithers at every turn. Sunlight whispering through morning clouds, boldly declaring itself by midday and flinging a neon masterpiece across the sky through particles of dust and refracted rays just before dusk. Songs and scents ride the wind and moisture hangs from cumulus clouds, water swollen between cactus ribs and surging in streams that trickle beneath the ground. The sheer magnitude of her fullness will sustain her through the coming heat, and she is not afraid. She holds the momentum of her own cycles within herself. The desert flaunts her power...

Sarah reads from her "solstice" chapter:
...A photo slipped out from a pile that still needed to be gathered in a box. I lifted it to the light and caught my breath. Emerson was about eight years old, sitting on his bike in the middle of our street, surrounded by his best friends from the neighborhood. His fist was raised high, pumping the air, wind in his hair, biggest grin on his face. A moment of raw joy. And now, a bittersweet memory of what we had and what we had to give up. I pulled the photograph close to my heart, knowing the move was causing a deep fracture not only in my world but in theirs. The loss and impact were massive, and I hated that I couldn’t protect all of us from it. I folded the photo and placed it in my wallet. I wanted to keep it there so that when I’d see it, I’d feel it. I didn’t want to forget the love or the loss. They both told the stories I wanted to practice telling. One without the other wouldn’t ring as true...


To connect with Sarah or Corinne, find them on Instagram: @heysarahcarter @thesaltyshark @sarahandcorinne 

For more information about Spiritual Pyro, visit www.spiritualpyro.com. 

Pick up your copy of the skies are full of us at bookshop.org or your favorite bookstore.