Live Virtual Group Session: 12PM EST February 27th 2026

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Thank you to everyone who joined us for this session!

For this session we read an excerpt from the book “Misinterpretation” by Ledia Xhoga, posted below.

Our prompt was: “Write about the life behind the walls.”

Participants are warmly encouraged to share what you wrote below (“Leave a Reply”), to keep the conversation going here, bearing in mind that the blog of course is a public space where confidentiality is not assured.

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Please join us for our next session Wednesday March 11th at 6pm EDT, with more times listed on our Live Virtual Group Sessions.

An excerpt from Misinterpretation by Ledia Xhoga, (pp. 258-259)

Zani turned to his wife. They smiled at each other again. Arranged marriage or not, they seemed in love.
“So many people in New York City,” Lëndina said, noticing the lights turning on outside. “Like ants. Eating and making nests.” But we could only see buildings. It was hard for me to imagine bodies behind the walls, breathing, worrying, laughing, milling about the dinner table, conversing, obsessing. The spectacle inside my own apartment took all my attention. 
I glimpsed at Zani, munching on bread, cheese, and salami, eating them separately, a bite each time, the Albanian way, not the sandwiched American way. A simple man, an open book, nothing to hide. But was he? He hadn’t batted an eye at paying $50,000 to the lawyer. If he had money, he didn’t show it. Zani wasn’t the type to brag about money, I realized. But he did enjoy an aura of mystique and danger about him. Maybe there was no crime at the root of his opacity, only conceit. Despite his rough appearance, I suspected Zani was a bit vain. 
“Way too many people,” he said. “But the most important thing in the world is not to drink alone. To have someone to clink a glass with. Why did God create so many different kinds of people, do you know? To share love, and everything else.” 
“Gëzuar,” said Lëndina. 
“Gëzuar,” I said. 
“To friends. You are no longer alone,” Zani said. “You have us.” A blinding light from a nearby balcony turned on. Our image on the glass died, replaced by that of the gray buildings. 

Credit: Ledia Xhoga

6 thoughts on “Live Virtual Group Session: 12PM EST February 27th 2026”

  1. leilasegal's avatar leilasegal

    Thank you for today’s session! Here is my writing in response to the prompt, Write About the Life Behind the Walls:

    THE LIFE BEHIND THE WALLS

    It was brighter than anything, yet unseen. Were a pinpoint, a laser in the dark.

    Though they saw dark, our place expanded. It shone.

    I wondered why they could not see us.

    Limbs not strong enough to reach through walls. We held out a hand to none that would meet it.

    Walls were protection in the end, where we began our journey to paradise.

    Liked by 1 person

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  2. michele348's avatar michele348

    About the life behind the walls~~~

    These walls are built tall and strong.

    But what is their purpose… to keep others from coming in or to prevent us from going out?

    So much in this world has boundaries of containment… walls to prevent us from expressing our faith, our fears, our politics.

    I often wonder what’s behind those walls, on the other side… is there complete freedom to be who we truly are without criticism or persecution?

    I guess I will continue to keep wondering… right now, the walls are too high to peer over.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • antoinette56's avatar antoinette56

      Thank you for taking the time to post your reply Michele – we were talking after the session about the importance of using texts that sit in uncertainty, and your writing embraces that as well! Best, Antoinette

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  3. antoinette56's avatar antoinette56

    Wall, like skin, like cell walls. Is there any place truly beyond walls? A place where no further walls are to be found? Atoms? Neutrinos? Or are we someplace else entirely, a place of breathing, stillness, calm, between walls, or in some other dimension entirely, where we no longer misinterpret, no longer imagine – usually inaccurately – who our fellow beings are. “Maybe there was no crime at the center of his opacity, only conceit.” Conceit is our self-imagination, its own bundle of half-truths, shadows and blinding light.

    Liked by 1 person

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