ABOUT DEAR MAINE

I grew up on the southern coast of Maine. The ocean sets the pace, whether you like it or not. Summers are short and bright. Winters are long and honest. Mud season and black fly season humble everyone.

Maine is home. I love it. I argue with it. I’ve tried to leave it in my head more than once. My Maine stays put.

Dear Maine started as a way to stop keeping it all in my head.

Each month, I write a letter to the place that raised me and send it to the ones who get it. The ones who’ve lived here, left here, or still measure time by the way the light changes in October.

The letters are simple on purpose. Stories from the shore. Notes on whatever the season is throwing at us. Paper goods made carefully, meant to be kept. Nothing flashy. Nothing overdone.

This is the real Maine. Salt on everything. Coffee before sunrise. Lobster boats already out while the rest of the country is still asleep. The kind of quiet that takes some getting used to and then you can’t live without it.

If Maine has ever had a hold on you, you’ll understand.

From the Coast,
Claire