Seeing Wonder All Around Us: Kathleen McKitty Harris, 49

Forties Stories

Today I’ve changed up my content calendar to bring you an episode that speaks more to where we all find ourselves today – dealing with the uncertainty of a global pandemic. I had this conversation last week with Kathleen McKitty Harris and feel this is an especially timely episode because she challenges us to see the wonder all around us, every day. That means even now while our autopilot has effectively been ground to a halt.

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Kathleen McKitty Harris and I talk about how she gained confidence in her 40s to really embrace her calling, the quest for identity, and how she’s feeling about the coming empty nest. We also talk about how we can weather life with confidence because of our experience and how we, as GenXers, have an opportunity to be a bridge to other generations.

I personally love how Kathleen captures both the beauty and absurdity of life, with a dash of humor, on her Instagram posts. In the episode she talks about how all we have are our stories -- and that every day we start a new one when we rise. We have more opportunity than ever to witness the ordinary now as we social distance, which I think gives us back a sense of control.

Kathleen McKitty Harris is a fifth-generation native New Yorker whose work has been published in Longreads, Creative Nonfiction, Sonora Review, McSweeney's, and The Rumpus, among others. Her essay, “A Timeline of Human Female Development,” appears in My Body, My Words, an anthology centered on body image and positivity, and named by BUSTLE Magazine as one of “11 New Feminist Books That Could Totally Change Your Year.”

Kathleen also performs as a storyteller at such venues as The Moth in New York City, and co-hosts the “What’s Your Story?” reading series in her backyard in northern New Jersey, where she lives with her husband, two children, and an irredeemable dog.

Be sure to connect with me on social media to stay abreast of everything. I love hearing from you, so send me an email or leave a comment on any the episode on the website, which you can find at www.fortiesstories.com. I’ll also tell you how to connect with Kathleen in the show notes - I hope you’ll give her a follow her on Instagram.

Thanks for listening!