I had a sudden notion of why history is such a mess: humans do not live long enough. We only learn from experience and have no time to use it in a continuous and sensible way. –Martha Gellhorn
What She Said, November 21: Martha Gellhorn
Diane Masiello
I am a writer and high school English teacher at a Catholic, all-girls private school. I began my teaching and writing career over 30 years ago, earning my Ph.D. in English Education from and first teaching at New York University. After I finished my degree work, my husband and I moved to Florida; I have taught at both Nova Southeastern University and The University of Tampa.
I left academia to raise two beautiful daughters and help care for my parents, which is when I turned to blogging to help me process my experiences. I started in 2003 with a LiveJournal entitled "Afternoons with Coffee Spoons" which I eventually translated over to Wordpress. In 2019 I was invited to join "The Gloria Sirens" blog, which gave me space to develop my voice.
Over the past few years, as I have raised teenagers and gone back to teaching, my writing has become more focused on the interplay of the Catholic faith, mystery, and storytelling. This has, in 2025, led me to return to writing exclusively for my own blog where I can more fully explore "Every Grace and Blessing" that God has bestowed upon me and those I love.
What She Said, November 20: Corrie Ten Boom
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It robs today of its strength. –Corrie Ten Boom
What She Said, November 19: Maya Angelou
Let gratitude be the pillow on which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. –Maya Angelou
What She Said, November 18: Brene Brown
What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude. –Brene Brown
What She Said, November 17: Doris Lessing
Trust no friend without faults, and love a woman, but no angel. –Doris Lessing
What She Said, November 16: Oprah Winfrey
True forgiveness is when you can say, “Thank you for the experience.” –Oprah Winfrey
What She Said, October 18: bell hooks
For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed? -bell hooks
What She Said, October 17: Anne Lamott
Hope is not about proving anything. It’s about choosing to believe in this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak shit anyone can throw at us. -Anne Lamott
What She Said, October 16: Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one: you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to. -Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
What She Said, October 15: Barbara Kingsolver
A miscarriage is a natural and common event. All told, probably more women have lost a child from this world than haven’t. Most don’t mention it, and they go on from day to day as if it hadn’t happened, so people imagine a woman in this situation never really knew or loved what she had. But ask her sometime: how old would your child be now? And shel’ll know. -Barbara Kingsolver
The Gloria Sirens 