Starting Soon, Writing in the Dark's "Essay in 12 Steps" Challenge!

"Given its genre mingling, the lyric essay often accretes by fragments, taking shape mosaically—its import visible only when one stands back and sees it whole." ~ Deborah Tall

I am a broken thing. I know this.

But I am beautiful in my brokenness. I know this too.

These days, almost everyone has heard of kintsugi—the Japanese phrase meaning “join with gold.” It’s become a cliche, a meme, that ever-present photo of the fractured black pot lacquered back together with liquid gold.

But this is precisely what happens if you are abu…