My name is Lauren Kelley. Life has left little documentation about me, so I decided to keep my own record.
I have been writing stories about my life and what I imagined life could be for longer than I know. I churned emotion into language until something recognizable emerged. The gap between memory and the moment draws me to document what remains, what changes, and what disappears. I return most often to what I cannot reconcile, and the versions of myself that emerge in the attempt.
I need to understand where everything is felt.
The Practice
I start and end each day with writing. During the day, I gather the thoughts and feelings that break the surface and dissect them on the page. From there, a theme emerges. Sometimes a pattern. No matter where I go, I carry paper and pen.
Thoughts don’t take up residence in my mind. The confusion stays in place as I rearrange the information around it. What I remember and what I feel rarely align.
I record the smallest moments, not because they outweigh the rest. Only because they happened.
Someone must know how this moment altered me.
Misfiled
I always thought I’d be a part of the 27 Club. Like most of my thoughts, that didn’t work out.
A life of instability sent me into worlds and stories not my own. I stopped and started writing too many times to count. I used to burn anything I wrote. Eventually, I started keeping it. Now I want to know if anyone thinks like me.
My husband, Jadeyn, supports my literary ramblings with the grace of a forgiving god. We’ve been together for over five years and have a constellation of five animals. Our cats and dogs have taught me more about communication than I expected. I like knowing when I’ve made their lives a little easier.
I grew up moving frequently. I’ve lived in nine different states. Between unfamiliar places and the demands of working on a farm, I learned to pay attention quickly. I’ve known towns with a few hundred people and cities where I could disappear into the crowd. The country has always felt more familiar. I keep moving, looking for a place where I might want to stay. Someday, I’d like a horse again.
Author Record
Lauren Kelley is a writer whose work explores memory, the body, and the shifting terrain between them. Her writing spans creative nonfiction, poetry, and experimental prose. Her work has appeared in Panorama Literary Journal, Inglenook Literary Magazine, and Middle West Press, among others. She lives with her husband and a small constellation of animals, where she continues to collect observations and unreliable records.
