MyMaine Bookshelf
Literature
Maine: Memory and Inspiration
The drive from Nova Scotia may seem daunting to some, but for many of us, it’s a homecoming of sorts—my family has a long history with the state of Maine. For my dad, Maine is a memory of hard work under the hot sun. But it’s also the one place he calls a second home. He and my aunts and uncles will leave the Annapolis Valley, here in Nova Scotia, and drive the six hours to Maine for lotto tickets.
It’s a Maine Thing
Literature
Oh. My. ’GASH.
“We don’t have a street light. We don’t have a police officer. So, what do you want to do?!”
Darlene Dumond laughs across the table, and I laugh back.
How to Pick a Lawyer
Adulting
A checklist for finding the right lawyer to represent you
Let’s be real: No one wakes up hoping to hire a personal injury attorney. When people call my office, it’s usually because something has gone wrong: an accident, an injury, a moment that interrupted their life.
What Maine Means to Me
What Maine Means to Me
In the words of Greg Elder
Twenty years ago, I arrived in Maine carrying pieces of three different lives. I grew up and started a family in Minnesota, then spent formative years in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by mountains and water. When I came east for a job, I expected Maine to be a chapter. I did not expect it to become home.
On a Scale of One to a Million
Features
How SailMaine opens Casco Bay to every kid who ever looked out at the water and wondered, “What if?”
Jimena’s fingers dig into Jayden’s arm as she holds on for dear life, cautiously making her way down onto the ramp—her first steps onto a dock. Every step is slightly easier than the last as she starts to gain her balance.
From Forest to Fastball
Ritual & Remedy
How Maine became the maker of America’s finest baseball bats
The sound is unmistakable.
A sharp crack cuts across a baseball field as a wooden bat meets a fastball. For a few seconds, the attention is on the player, the ball, and where it lands.
Summer Camp Grows Up
Accidental Innkeeper
S’mores, singalongs, and a few grown-up luxuries transform a classic Maine getaway into an unforgettable camp experience
There are sensible ways to deal with a pandemic. Instead, my wife, Jessica, and I chose to buy a faded 1950s motor lodge on Route 1 in Lincolnville. In our defense, we had recently decamped for the summers from California to Maine and were completely under the spell of the Midcoast.
My Vacationland
FEATURES
From Morocco to Maine, an unexpected path led to a deeper understanding of community, belonging, and the people who define a place
People often ask me why I chose Maine. The truth is, at first, I didn’t choose Maine. I followed love here. But over time, that love grew into something much bigger.
The Making of Men
Features
A new documentary project becomes an intimate meditation on community, nature, and the complicated inheritance of masculinity
I was prone to trouble as a kid. Knowing this, my mother conscripted me into service during her night shifts as a newspaper photographer in the city of Lynn, Massachusetts. I’d carry her bag, jot down names, and keep her company between ribbon cuttings and sporting events.
The Long Journey to Your Morning Sip
Feast & Toast
Why I will never dump out another cup of coffee
An hour into picking coffee cherries, and I haven’t even covered the basket’s bottom. Despite best efforts, my clumsy fingers picked too many unripe lime green cherries when they should all be cranberry red. The usable cherries I have picked wouldn’t even fill a pound bag found at Hannaford.
Analog Dreams at Kinonik
Arts & Culture
The hidden haunt for film lovers
Growing up in Cape Elizabeth in the ’90s, we collected Beanie Babies by the dozens and chose our own adventures in the yellowed pages of Goosebumps books. SpaghettiOs straight from the can counted as dinner, and everyone carried the same L.L.Bean backpack with their initials embroidered on it. We spent our Saturday mornings watching cartoons and eating strawberry Pop-Tarts.
The Gulf Before
Features
Cashes Ledge offers a rare glimpse of what the Gulf of Maine looked like 400 years ago
At 5:02 a.m., we pass the Isle of Shoals—it’s the last land we’ll see until sunset. We motor east for about 100 miles on the Gulf Challenger, the University of New Hampshire’s research vessel, to Cashes Ledge deep in the Gulf of Maine.
A Revolutionary Road Trip
Arts & Culture
Maine Historical Society takes a founding document throughout Maine
This summer and fall, one of the rarest documents in American history is traveling to communities in all 16 Maine counties, courtesy of the Maine Historical Society (MHS).
Autumn in Cumberland County
Make Yourself At Home
Where community, tradition, and home come together
In Cumberland County, few seasons are as anticipated as fall. Orchards welcome families for apple picking, farm stands overflow with pumpkins and fresh cider, and weekends are often centered around harvest festivals, local traditions, and time spent with family and friends.
Harvest Moon
LITERATURE
Poetry by Tim Seibles
Big Sister, apple light, kiss
on the river—tonight
make each word a strange dish
The Art of Returning
Ritual & Remedy
A restorative retreat on Little Sebago Lake invites guests to step away from daily demands and reconnect with their truest self.
Halo is more than a retreat—it’s an invitation to come home to yourself.
Although we are just 30 minutes from bustling Portland on the shores of Little Sebago Lake, Halo feels a world away.
The Captivating World of Cig Harvey
Photography
Maine-based photographer Cig Harvey is interested in the connection between life and death, the experience of living. The passing of time and the natural surroundings of her rural home have made her alert to the magic in the mundane.
Driving Scout to school this morning, the maples were dropping their pollen, and it was as if the sun had shattered onto the dark tarmac.
Fall for Wolf Cove
Worth The Drive
A century-old lakeside retreat enters a new chapter, where timeless Maine hospitality meets a fresh generation of innkeeping.
Autumn arrives quietly on Tripp Lake.
The first hints of crimson and gold appear along the shoreline. Morning mist drifts across the water. A loon calls from somewhere beyond the dock as the surrounding forest begins its annual transformation into one of Maine’s most spectacular displays of fall color.
A Lesson from the Forest
Ritual & Remedy
A pine branch and the case for paying attention
I am lucky to live next to the Falmouth Nature Preserve, which I can access at the end of my street. I often go there to walk my dog and exercise and escape my inbox, Zoom meetings, phone calls, PowerPoints, and everything else that comes with working from home.
Fashion Statement
Get the Glow
Shopping vintage and consignment is equal parts style, sustainability, and the joy of the hunt
Mainers have a style that speaks for itself. But how do they find unique and standout fashion items? In an age defined by the consumption of fast fashion, locals find alternative ways to stay stylish while upholding their commitments to sustainability.