Desert Reflections Blog

Updates, notes, and behind-the-scenes from the journey.

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11 results
June 22, 2025 James Cormier

Coming down the home stretch, I think?

Specific Book-Related Memoir Memoir Insights Writer's Block Writing Discipline Writing Process

I have stalled. I haven't written in 8+ weeks. It's true, the end of the book is the hardest part to write. I have so much going through my mind, so many distractions. I find myself exhausted, too tired to write and…

May 2, 2025 James Cormier

A Dog Named Paul

Memoir & Personal Journey Comfort Marinascape Oceanic Pets / Animals

It's been two years since my ordeal in Dubai but I still remember much of it like it was yesterday. Very cliché but so very true. About this time I was moved into the flat with my soon to be very close and dear…

April 23, 2025 James Cormier

Finding Time

Memoir & Personal Journey Author's Journey Overcoming Challenges Patience Perseverance Pets / Animals Writing Discipline Writing Process Writing Retreat

As I get closer and closer to finishing up the manuscript, I find it more difficult to find the time to write? It's not a writer's block, the story is still fresh in my mind, and when I settle in and focus it all comes…

April 11, 2025 James Cormier

Mom and Dad's 59th Anniversary

Updates & Events Anniversaries Family Love Marriage Ottawa

This year my parents have been married 59 years! I am so blessed to have had their example to follow - not that their marriage was perfect, far from it, but rather that through thick and thin they always managed to make…

April 2, 2025 James Cormier

Time Heals All Wounds?

Struggle & Overcoming Anxiety Endurance in Trials Father & Son God's Will Loss Manor Hotel by JA Sadness Turning Points

Two years on and I can still feel the ache in my heart... It was April 2, 2023 3:00am - Dubai(UAE) I had spent the past month with my son Adrian, hoping and praying that we could leave together. I was supposed to have…

March 26, 2025 James Cormier

My Constant Companion

Encouragement & Hope Comfort Family Support Home Love Mental Health Pets / Animals

When I returned from Dubai, given everything that had happened, my wife and I agreed that it might be a good idea for me to have a buddy to keep me company; Shannon took the initiative to looking for my new friend and…

March 12, 2025 James Cormier

Under Spiritual Attack

Memoir & Personal Journey Anxiety God's Timing Overcoming Challenges Perseverance Psalm 46:10 Spiritual Warfare Writing Discipline Writing Process

I knew it would be challenging, but I had no idea just how much. While I'm constantly mindful of what's going on around me, I'm hyper-focused on finishing the book. I have extended the deadline for the manuscript twice…

March 1, 2025 James Cormier

When Time Stands Still

Memoir & Personal Journey Answered Prayer Crossroads Dubai Family Support Father & Son God's Timing Gratitude Joy New Beginnings Release Second Chances Sunrise Turning Points Unexpected Blessings

Time moves differently when you're trapped. It slows, stretches, plays tricks on your mind. For nearly three weeks, I had counted the minutes, hours and days, measured them in prayers, in quiet and not so quiet moments.…

February 24, 2025 James Cormier

The Earliest Words of Lighthouse in the Desert

Memoir & Personal Journey Journaling Memoir Writing Process

Two years ago, on February 25, 2023, I managed to get my hands on a few scraps of paper - precious, fragile pages that became my lifeline to memory. A borrowed pen, returned after each use because of its scarcity, was…

February 17, 2025 James Cormier

How Writing This Book Has Impacted Me Emotionally

When I first set out to write this memoir, I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I understood that revisiting certain moments would bring up emotions I had long buried. What I didn’t fully grasp, though, was just how deeply this…

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