1. THE FOOL’S NOTEBOOK
This is where the road begins. The Fool is the card of beginning, trust, risk, becoming—the energy of stepping forward without knowing exactly where the road leads. This series is a record of the early steps—fragments, sketches, and reflections from a life still taking shape. Here, I share process notes about my memoir-in-progress, Fire in My Mouth. Nothing here is finished. A sketchbook and seedbed.
For years, I wrote in the margins—of teaching schedules, sobriety anniversaries, album reviews, unfinished songs and half-hearted routines. What would it mean to thread it all together? What would be revealed?
Welcome. I'm so glad you're here.
This isn’t a typical blog or newsletter.
You won’t find hot takes or how-tos here.
There’s no algorithm, no productivity hacks.
Just a mirror for anyone in a season of return. For anyone craving a softer pace. For anyone rebuilding voice, identity, or creative practice from the inside out.
Tracework grew from my own season of unraveling—professionally, emotionally, spiritually. After a long and quiet rebuilding of something like a self, I didn’t want to just write content.
I wanted to trace the creative work I had abandoned—what still pulsed underneath the ash, what still sang—in the context of my life now.
Because for years, I wrote in the margins—of teaching schedules, sobriety anniversaries, album reviews, unfinished songs, and half-hearted routines.
What would it mean to thread it all together? What would be revealed?
So I’ve been gathering those margins, rewriting them, listening for the
shape of something larger.
Each post, each ritual, each thread of language here is part of a slow return—a rebuilding of voice, of rhythm, of embodiment.
Not a performance, but a tracing.
To follow memory where it leads.
To map the shape of becoming—more honest, more rooted, and somehow more whole.
Tracework is a living archive of creative return.
Inside Tracework you'll find:
- Personal essays that walk the line between memoir and myth—my own story, yes, but always with a doorway for yours
- A monthly series called Tracing the Arcana—reflections drawn from the tarot, each piece a meditation on healing and inner archetypes
- Listening Rituals—essays that use music as emotional and spiritual entry points
- Seasonal offerings that align with the year’s natural rhythms—rituals, playlists, guidebooks, and prompts that have helped me slow down and reimagine my life.
This isn’t a space for quick answers.
It’s for slow witnessing.
For attuning to your own rhythm.
If something in this speaks to you, I hope you’ll stay.
You can subscribe free to receive my main essays and reflections. Or, become a supporter to read more content like seasonal guidebooks, audio rituals, tarot spreads, and early access to my memoir-in-progress.
Your support helps me continue building this living archive, one reflection at a time.
Thank you for reading. Your presence here matters.
You are a part of this tracing.
- Michael
Paid subscriptions, tips, and donations help me keep Tracework free for everyone, and they help keep this site up and running (hosting and platform fees, etc.)
The Fools Notebook. This is where the road begins. The Fool is the card of beginning, trust, risk, becoming—the energy of stepping forward without knowing exactly where the road leads. This series is a record of the early steps—fragments, sketches, and reflections from a life and memoir still taking shape. Here, I share process notes about my memoir-in-progress, Fire in My Mouth. Nothing here is finished. A sketchbook and seedbed.
Listening Rituals. A devotion to sound, story, and the emotional texture of music. This is where I write about the albums that shape me, the songs that haunt me, and the soundscapes that echo through memory. Part criticism, part meditation—these are sonic essays that move between the personal and the collective, the beat and the breath. Listening becomes ritual here.
Tracing the Arcana. Essays, reflections, and fragments shaped by the archetypes of the tarot. This series follows the Major Arcana as a map for healing, transformation, and return. Each post traces a card—not as static meaning, but as invitation. Through shadow and light, memory and myth, I write my way into what the tarot reveals about queerness, identity, and the lifelong ritual of becoming.
The Reclamation Plan. A seasonal blueprint for creative return and personal renewal. What happens after burnout, rupture, or loss? This series is a living document of that question. Here, I share the phases and rituals that are helping me reorient my life around art, authenticity, and healing. It’s both a map and a mirror—for anyone tracing their way back to themselves.
The Deeper Thread. Become an annual supporter of Tracework. This is a space of gratitude to those of you who have become founding readers for this publication. Free and monthly supporters can't access these pieces. More to come soon.
The Minor Arcana. A different kind of way to explore this living archive. All work is also organized according to thematic, tarot-aligned themes that align with these four suits: Cups, Swords, Pentacles, and Wands.