Lisa Kissane

I write about life's contradictions.

Those times when you love and hate someone with the same breath. Or when you're overcome with sadness because of a happy song.

It can be confusing, holding conflicting truths. But what if that's the whole point? Everything I write starts from a person's duality; the way they feel underneath the version of their self they present to the rest of the world. The bigger the disparity, the better the story.

Human empathy is fascinating. Our unique ability to walk in another person's shoes, to hold their pain and share their joy. Even – especially – when it costs us something to do so. I write to explore how people feel in the moments that define them; the same moments that split life in two.

My own life has broken in half a few times, and I've written my way through it. When I found out I couldn't have kids; when my dad died; when my beautiful dog found me. Each time, the floor has shifted beneath me, offering an opportunity to find a new place to stand.

My forthcoming essay collection, Both Things Are True: Reflections From a Childless Stepmother, came directly from one of these fractures. I married a man with children and became their stepmum while navigating my own infertility. Being a childless stepparent is its own brand of joyful grief, and a perspective very few people share. Whether you're childless, childfree, or a parent, I hope you'll find something in my words that resonates.

I'm a writer, not a content creator. I tried writing for sales once, but it made me miserable. The pressure to scale, to feed the algorithm, to constantly produce. So I stopped, and now I write slowly, consciously. I have no interest in social media or Big Tech, and that makes me less visible, but that's ok. I trust that the people who need my writing will find me. My offline existence, my real life, is where my energy goes.

I've also stopped chasing goals, choosing instead to make decisions with an intention for how I want my life to feel. There's no finish line to reach; life isn't a problem to be solved. It can be tough sometimes, unbearable even.

That's the living part.

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