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Brandi Easterling Collins, independent author

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Essays, General Thoughts

How Many Times Can You Start Over?

Several times in my life, I’ve had to hit the reset button and start from scratch. It can get exhausting, but it’s also a chance to change or improve the…

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February 16, 2025
General Thoughts

Our First Official Family Vacation

In the 10 years since Jonathan and I became parents, we’ve never taken a real family vacation. By vacation, I mean to drive away from our home to another location,…

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July 29, 2018
General Thoughts, Pop Culture

2021 in review: How the year played out and the best books I read

Organization I’ve been trying to start this blog post for the past two days, but I keep getting caught up in one home organization project or another. I organized the…

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January 2, 2022
  • A woman looks into a mirror while measuring her waist
    Essays,  General Thoughts

    Believe It or Not, Getting Fat Isn’t the Worst Thing That’s Ever Happened to Me

    May 27, 2026 /

    Body image has been a hot topic for as long as I’ve been alive in one way or another. As the old saying goes, sometimes, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Eras of Women’s Body Image During My Lifetime and How I Related I was born during the 1980s aerobics craze where the ideal female body was toned and athletic like fitness model Jane Fonda. I remember accompanying my mom to aerobics classes when I was a young child or trying to follow along with home workout videos on VHS. The 1990s came along with “thin-is-in” models like Kate Moss. Seventeen and Cosmopolitan magazines had diet…

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    2 Comments

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    A New Family Member: An official introduction

    March 29, 2021

    Quitting: Is it failure?

    October 20, 2017
    Woman dealing with mental health issues.

    When your mind betrays you: depression rears its ugly head again

    December 9, 2023
  • Sketch of movie tickets, popcorn and film
    General Thoughts,  Pop Culture

    Movies I Will Watch Again and Again

    April 6, 2026 /

    I love movies almost as much as I love books. Over the years, there have been multiple movies that I’ve watched multiple times. They’re not all what critics would call cinematic masterpieces, but these films have meant a lot to me and still do. My first movie at the theater I still remember the first movie I saw in a movie theater: Ernest Goes to Camp. My aunt Diana took me to see it with my three cousins. It was a wonderful experience that spurred my love for movies and spending time with my aunt. She often took my siblings and me to the movies over the summer when she…

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    3 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Christmas, Truth, and Childhood Innocence

    December 22, 2017

    My biggest fear

    November 20, 2016

    Talking about death

    September 9, 2018
  • Author read 75 books in 2025
    General Thoughts,  Pop Culture

    2025 in Book Reviews

    January 4, 2026 /

    I met my goal of reading 75 books in 2025 while I also finished writing and editing my sixth novel, Four Hearts, which was released on December 16. Here are my best reads: Top 10 best reads for 2025 (traditionally published) Apostle’s Cove (Cork O’Connor, #20) by William Kent Krueger Flight Patterns by Karen White If Tomorrow Never Comes by Allison Ashley All Our Beautiful Goodbyes by Julianne MacLean Misery by Stephen King The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5) Broiler by Eli Cranor Best nonfiction reads for 2025…

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    2 Comments

    You May Also Like

    101 random things about me

    December 15, 2018

    All I know about my dad

    January 1, 2017

    My love history and why I never wrote about my husband until now

    July 30, 2016
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Recent Posts

  • Believe It or Not, Getting Fat Isn’t the Worst Thing That’s Ever Happened to Me
  • Movies I Will Watch Again and Again
  • 2025 in Book Reviews
  • Embracing the Holidays
  • Four Hearts: Coming soon

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