31 responses

  1. Ruthie Rohde
    May 17, 2021

    So clever! And such a poignant essay about one woman and her family’s very particular experience of Covid. Loved this and always love Beth Ann Fennelly’s writing!

    Reply

  2. Rosalie Duryee
    May 17, 2021

    Oh this is just the best. The drama!

    Reply

  3. MARIANNE JANACK
    May 17, 2021

    what a great piece! Thank you.

    Reply

  4. Betsy Geist
    May 18, 2021

    Oh my! So funny; so poignant; so human. Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece.

    Reply

  5. L.I. Henley
    May 18, 2021

    I am a huge fan and so happy to read this new piece! It’s brilliant, as always.

    Reply

  6. Tracey Ormerod
    May 19, 2021

    Intentionally, this was my first read of the current issue. After COVID cast a heavy shadow of loss and illness for our family, “Heating and Cooling” was one of my few reads that offered me a much-needed giggle. This piece did not disappoint. Thank you Beth Ann Fennelly.

    Reply

  7. Joanna Eleftheriou
    May 19, 2021

    “They munch until dawn, then slime back under the mulch, engage in some hermaphroditic kink, then squirt out thirty eggs.” Such a great line, among so many great lines!

    Reply

  8. Alaina Smith
    May 21, 2021

    Loved the ending. It made me laugh. I can relate.

    Reply

  9. Cynthia Everett
    May 22, 2021

    What a delightful read. Thank you.

    Reply

  10. Beth Ann Fennelly
    May 25, 2021

    ahhh thanks for the love, fellow Brevity fans! So happy to be in this issue.

    Reply

  11. Charlotte Whitty
    May 26, 2021

    This is so good. It’s funny and beautifully crafted. Thank you!

    Reply

  12. Laurel Hall
    May 26, 2021

    Because of this essay, I ordered and have already read Ms Fennelly’s micro-memoir three or four times, and sent a copy to a friend for his birthday. This all happened during the past ten or so days.

    Thanks, Ms Fennelly! Thanks Brevity!

    Reply

  13. KRIZZIA PAYAN TAUPAN
    May 27, 2021

    This is so good!

    Reply

  14. Eileen Cunniffe
    May 30, 2021

    I love everything about this essay, but the line I will remember is “Two-thirds of my children accepted the bribe…” I admire the one-third immensely for not buckling.

    Reply

  15. Margo
    June 13, 2021

    Laughing out loud! Can’t wait to share this!

    Reply

  16. Orla Sheehan
    June 16, 2021

    Fantastic little essay.

    Reply

  17. Sarah Swandell
    June 23, 2021

    I love everything you ever write!

    Reply

  18. Vicki
    June 29, 2021

    Love this story! I am battling with slugs too.

    Reply

    • Phil
      September 16, 2021

      I know right 🙂

      Reply

  19. Zoe Dagneault
    July 21, 2021

    This is such a quietly dark and relatable piece. I so enjoyed the small wars she waged to get by and her children’s telling perspectives. A funny and poignant piece about parenting in the pandemic. A brilliant closing line!

    Reply

  20. Garry
    July 25, 2021

    Thank you, i loved this piece. So man emotions of darness written with humor

    Reply

  21. Ken Fales
    August 2, 2021

    I enjoyed this from the fantastic opening sentence to the soft bullet last sentence.

    Reply

  22. Jennifer Schelter
    August 15, 2021

    I love this intimate tale of slugs, family gardening, growth and language.

    Reply

  23. Cathy
    August 17, 2021

    I LOVE it! Such insight! Beautifully written!

    Reply

  24. Geraldine Terry
    August 25, 2021

    Just stumbled on this during my latest procrastination meanderings. Made me laugh out loud and think differently about writing my own lockdown experience. Has led me both to donate to Brevity and keep reading, and to hunt out more of Beth Ann Fennelly’s writing. Thank you for such a great piece.

    Reply

  25. carol
    September 1, 2021

    hahaha enjoyed the article through out and felt like my life story had a good relaxed laugh after long time good one

    Reply

  26. Lori Tucker-Sullivan
    September 2, 2021

    This is so wonderful. I recently had my monthly acupuncture treatment, in part to treat anxiety. My acupuncturist felt my pulses and said I was a broiling vat of anger and resentment. That’s really not me, I promise. But lately, well. Oh how I wish I had some slugs to swear at and drown. I do hope your garden otherwise thrived, but boy that sounds therapeutic right now! Thanks for this. Many of us needed it.

    Reply

  27. Phil
    September 16, 2021

    What a great read!!!

    Reply

  28. Jane Lihou
    September 30, 2021

    Really nice writing. Your description reminded of the tiny pea shoots that were disappearing from my fenced garden. Turns out some wild bunnies were chomping the tender tops as soon as they popped up. I ceded the peas to them. They were, unlike your slugs, too cute and not greedy.

    Reply

  29. Anoop Gupta
    October 8, 2021

    Got, something good to read after a long time. It was too much fun and make me laugh loudly. What a great story!!!

    Reply

  30. Meera
    October 21, 2021

    Loved this!!! Could so relate from halfway around the world!

    Reply

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