Want an honest window to the challenges of life?
This is the place where I write about the muckiness of life—the difficult questions, the tough choices, the unwelcome losses.
I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve got a flashlight and I’m using this place to leave a brave and honest map.
Want an honest window to the challenges of life?
This is the place where I write about the muckiness of life—the difficult questions, the tough choices, the unwelcome losses.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers but I’ve got a flashlight, a curious mind, and I’m using this place to leave a brave and honest map.
Latest Posts
Enjoy. Tend. Ass. Heart.
…so that I may enjoy my life and home, tend to my field, and put my ass where my heart wants to be. It may …
I am All These Things
“I am all these things so that I can fulfill my divine life intentions: To be a creative maker, A good friend and partner, With …
I am Gritty
As I’ve been doing these posts on my morning meditations, I’ve made some changes. Changing ‘persevering’ to ‘gritty’ was one of them. Before ‘persevering’ the …
Testimonials
What I love most about Jule Kucera’s writing style is that there’s so much room for the reader. She invites us in and makes a spot for us on the couch so we’re able to get in touch with our own dark, messy, and perhaps even tragic experiences. Though these are her stories, in a way they feel like ours. And she welcomes us to heal together as life has its way with us.

Jule’s writing is a bounty of passion for life tempered by practical wisdom for living, loving, and overcoming tragedy. As Jule searches for the things that bind us together she takes us in tow for an instructive and delightful ride.

The writing of Jule Kucera is authentic and intimate, pulling me in with her observations of both the mundane and the extraordinary, the painful and the joyous. She is perceptive, reflective and forgiving, choosing words that force me to think a little harder about life.

Hard Times & Hope Podcast
Jule: A fifteen-year-old considers suicide
Hard Times & Hope podcast, episode 11 Yep, this week the ‘guest’ is me! Taking a turn in the guest chair seemed like the right …
Adam: Choosing a school, a breath, a tomorrow
Hard Times & Hope podcast, episode 10 Adam is a deep thinker. This episode focuses on pivotal moments (a car crash, the death of a …
Katie: A daughter with a dad-shaped hole
Hard Times & Hope podcast, episode 9 Every daughter wants to love and be loved by her father. But Katie’s father left their family when …
Do we have things in common?
To find out, how would you answer these questions?
(My answers are “Yes!”)
- Are you curious?
- Have people told you that you’re strong?
- Have you loved… and have you lost?
- Do you believe in getting better?
Looking for an honest take on the stuff most people don't talk about?
Sign up for musings on the muck* every Sunday and a link to a podcast conversation every other Saturday. No spam, leave any time. You’ll get my Vessel of Affection Map as a thank you!
*The muck is the muddy stuff that brings the good stuff.