Anne’s Bio: Anne Walsh Donnelly lives in the west of Ireland, writes prose, poetry and plays and loves to experiment with form in her writing. She is the author of the poetry collections, Odd as F*ck, and The Woman with the Owl Tattoo, both published by Fly on the Wall press.
Her novel, He Used To Be Me, was published by New Island Books in 2024. Her essays have reached the top 10 in WOW's Creative Nonfiction Essay Contests several times for which she is eternally grateful.
Instagram: annewalshdonnellypoetry
X: @AnneWDonnelly
Interview by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto
WOW: Thank you for writing such a personal essay and thank you for joining me again today. It's always lovely to be reunited with a long-time friend. Your writing is as always a joy and pleasure. Let me ask you this Anne, what was your intended take-away with writing Eruption?
Anne: Thanks to you all at WOW! for publishing it. What is the take-away I’d like readers to gain from reading Eruption? To be honest I don’t have one. What the reader gains from reading this essay is outside of my control. All I can do is hope that it resonates with the reader in some way.
WOW: That's a great point - thank you for your transparency. Anne, who is your support - what have you found to be most supportive in your writing life as well as in life in general? You are clearly an accomplished author - are there other writers/readers in your life who help you through?
Anne: I am fortunate to have many supports both in my writing and in life in general. My family of course, particularly my two (now young adult) children. They were quite young with I started writing 13 years ago and I can still remember their excitement when they discovered I was writing. They were planning my first book before I even thought I was capable of writing a book, my daughter was going to design the cover and my son said he’d look after the ‘business’ side of things!
I’ve been fortunate too to have encountered many fellow writers who have been very supportive and encouraging and who believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.
And of course the Creator of all creators has been with me all my life, giving me the strength and courage I needed to make some pretty tough life-changing decisions for both myself and my children.
WOW: I'm sure your bravery inspired your children and it warms my heart to hear how supportive they are of you and your writing career. This is such a wonderful tidbit about you! What advice would you give to others (specifically females) when it comes to self care, authenticity, and finding their voice?
Anne: Just be you and don’t get too hung up on all that ‘on-trend’ stuff we’re supposed to be doing, like being authentic and finding our voices. Sometimes doing nothing and just ‘being’ is enough. I nearly killed myself trying to find my voice! What I didn’t realise was that it was already within me, I just needed to give it time to emerge. As for self-care the most loving thing you can do for yourself is to stop doing, stop striving and be as gentle to yourself as you would be to a baby.
WOW: I love that advice - now we just need to hear and follow it. I admit, the follow through is what's a struggle for me. Hopefully if you say it to me often enough it will eventually sink in!
That said, what’s next for you dear Anne? What are your writing goals for the rest of 2025 and beyond? Do you have a new book on the horizon?
Anne: I’ve stepped back from writing for now. I’ve been experiencing some ‘writer burnout’ over the past few months. It’s been hard to accept that I need to take time out but I understand why I need to. I’ve been writing for 13 years, in addition to single parenting my two children, working a day job and coping with chronic pain, and in that time I’ve published two poetry collections, one short story collection and a novel as well as having some of my plays performed. And of course I’ve been successful with my creative personal essays thanks to WOW. So I’ve exhausted myself in more ways than one and now I’m practicing what I preach i.e. spending more time ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’.
WOW: I love that you can acknowledge that need and move forward with it. I wonder if that's something that's come with age? Do you have advice for your younger self when it comes to making decisions, believing in yourself, and/or writing? What would your current self say to the younger you?
Anne: Listen to your inner voice and trust it. Ignore the nagging self-doubt. You are more lovable, more precious and more talented than you think.
WOW: You give the best advice - thank you again for sharing your wise words with us. Speaking of advice, what advice do you have for others during turbulent times? What works or doesn’t work for you when it comes to dealing with stress and the pressures of everyday life?
Anne: What works for me is my belief that there is a transcendent force working its magic in the universe. When things are really tough I repeat a quote attributed to the 13th Century English mystic, Mother Julian of Norwich. She says: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well…for there is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go.”
I find the thought that - there is a force of love moving through the universe and holding us - very comforting.WOW: Oh Anne - that's absolutely beautiful! I hope you're feeling better soon and back to writing. You have such a poetic nature and I enjoy reading your works. Thank you again for your time today and always and congratulations again my dear!
And until we meet again - may your paths be abundantly filled with enough lemons, sugar, and sunshine to make the most delicious lemonade you've ever tasted!
Hugs,
~Crystal
Crystal Casavant writes. Everything. If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought she has ever had. Her debut novel, It Was Never About Me, Was It? is still a work in progress and shall be fully worthy sometime in 2025. She has written for WOW! Women on Writing, Bring on Lemons, and has been featured in several magazines and ezines relating to credit and collections as well as religious collections for confessional Lutherans. She runs a busy household full of intelligent, recalcitrant, and delightful humans who give her breath and keep her heart beating day after day. Crystal wears many hats (and not just the one in this photo) and fully believes in being in the moment and doing everything she can to improve the lives of those around her! The world may never know her name, but she prays that because of her, someone may smile a little brighter. She prides herself on doing nice things - yes, even for strangers!
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