<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Sabina Charbonnet]]></title><description><![CDATA[Author of memoir, essays, and nonfiction exploring ordinary life, curiosity, resilience, and the unexpected places experience takes us.]]></description><link>https://www.sabinacharbonnet.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 23:01:48 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.sabinacharbonnet.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[The World Gets Bigger]]></title><description><![CDATA[My grandfather kept his shelves filled with books from around the world. When I was young, he encouraged me to read them and, more importantly, to think for myself. He taught me that listening to someone else's point of view or seeing a different way of living didn't mean I had to accept it as my own. I could learn about something without being threatened by it. He played a huge role in shaping the way I learned to look at the world. I still talk about him and the gift of thinking for myself....]]></description><link>https://www.sabinacharbonnet.com/post/the-world-gets-bigger</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a80cdd140f3daf10ba32a21</guid><pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 20:36:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f3d7ba_da00b948356b44ac980f7891762e618a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_237,h_236,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>sabinacharbonnet</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Need to Make It Mean Something]]></title><description><![CDATA[There are certain phrases people reach for when someone is grieving. Everything happens for a reason. It's often followed by the idea that it's all part of some larger plan. That someday you'll understand why this had to happen. I know people mean it kindly. They're trying to make something unbearable feel a little less random, and I appreciate the compassion behind that. There was a lesson you needed to learn. That one has always been the hardest for me. No one should have to learn a lesson...]]></description><link>https://www.sabinacharbonnet.com/post/the-need-to-make-it-mean-something</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a80cc3b7c0c81962239ea51</guid><pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 20:31:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f3d7ba_741271a6a9e54ae9abd1e5d98cccd3c3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_237,h_260,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>sabinacharbonnet</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Experiences Make the Best Gifts]]></title><description><![CDATA[Experiences are my favorite gifts to give. People usually expect me to say something tangible. Books. Records. Jewelry. Something practical. I like all of those things, and some of them mean a great deal to me. This isn't an argument against physical gifts. I just find myself choosing experiences over and over again. I didn't always have a good explanation for why. At first, I probably would have said they were more fun. They usually are. You get to go somewhere, see something, eat something,...]]></description><link>https://www.sabinacharbonnet.com/post/experiences-make-the-best-gifts</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a80cb3aa7a7d1a936d54d92</guid><pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 20:25:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f3d7ba_fc7c602cb034451c9ba2d0d5823f52dd~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_237,h_257,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>sabinacharbonnet</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Luxury of an Insignificant Problem]]></title><description><![CDATA[There are few things more irritating than someone leaving trash next to the trash can. Not across the room. Not somewhere a trash can was unavailable. Next to it. The journey was nearly complete. This is objectively not a significant problem. Nobody's life has been altered. There will be no congressional inquiry. I can pick it up, move it approximately six inches, and continue with my day. And yet, I have a surprising capacity for being annoyed by things that do not matter. Terrible parking....]]></description><link>https://www.sabinacharbonnet.com/post/the-luxury-of-an-insignificant-problem</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a7fa87640f3daf10ba0c147</guid><pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2026 23:48:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f3d7ba_171a1747bf124e6882284723f7f6e632~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_304,h_303,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>sabinacharbonnet</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Curiosity as a Compass]]></title><description><![CDATA[I grew up in a deeply religious home without television, which meant I had two things in abundance: books and time. I read constantly. Books were entertainment, obviously, but they also had an interesting habit of introducing questions nobody had specifically invited into the house. Reading exposed me to versions of good and evil, history, humanity and belief that were considerably more complicated than the answers I had been given. I don't think anyone intended that growing up without...]]></description><link>https://www.sabinacharbonnet.com/post/curiosity-as-a-compass</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a7f8c2240f3daf10ba087f4</guid><pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2026 22:22:03 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f3d7ba_338d9963250e4fffafa61683cf130ad2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_324,h_313,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>sabinacharbonnet</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Apparently, Dinner Is Still Required]]></title><description><![CDATA[One of the stranger things about having your life knocked sideways is discovering how little interest the rest of the world has in the situation. You still have to go to work. The mail continues arriving. Dinner remains stubbornly necessary. At some point you will stand in front of the refrigerator hoping that food has developed a plan in your absence. It has not. Something enormous can happen, something that fundamentally changes your understanding of your own life, and yet there you are...]]></description><link>https://www.sabinacharbonnet.com/post/apparently-dinner-is-still-required</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a7bfa7760971ea08f8f9164</guid><pubDate>Wed, 12 Aug 2026 04:54:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f3d7ba_363e1ef32d4448b68b8470b73eb246c5~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_302,h_249,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>sabinacharbonnet</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>