Author: Ron Stempkowski
I'm an award-winning writer living in Chicago. I have a passion for writing, storytelling, and my dog.
Nobody Tells You There’s a Third Option After Loss
“Moving on” never felt right. Here’s what I found instead. It was August, a few months after my husband Ken died. I’d poured a glass of cabernet and carried it out to the garden he’d tended ... Read More
Listening to History Instead of Reading It
I went to the theatre knowing what had happened. Like many people, I knew the story of Emmett Till. I knew the facts in the way history books and documentaries present them. I knew the names, the verd... Read More
What It’s Like to Watch Your Story Land
I didn’t expect this part to undo me. I expected nerves. I expected vulnerability. I expected that familiar, low-grade panic that comes with handing someone a piece of yourself and saying, “He... Read More
Holding Proof
I didn’t expect my eyes to well up, but they did—fast and without warning, like a sudden summer storm you swear you didn’t see coming. It caught me off guard mostly because this wasn’t suppose... Read More
I Sent My Book Out Into the World Today (Please Advise)
Today I did a thing that felt both thrilling and mildly unhinged. I sent my book to advance readers. Not the world yet. Not strangers on the internet with profile photos of sunsets and opinions about ... Read More
I’ve Been Calling It “The Book.” Not Anymore
The title of my upcoming book is “The Luck We Carry: Love, Loss, and the Stories that Shape Us.” The title comes from an essay I wrote last year about an experience that really touched me and ... Read More
The Feedback I Wasn’t Ready For
I expected notes. That’s what you brace for when you hand something precious to an editor. You expect margin comments. Structural concerns. A polite but firm list of things that need work. What I di... Read More
The Promise I Made Before He Died–and Why I’m Still Keeping It
My upcoming book exists because of a promise. Ken was full of kindness, grace, and humor. So much so that even our hospice experience together held moments of joy. Not because it was easy. It wasn’t... Read More