0
Skip to Content
Kate Sjostrand | Author
Home
About
Writing
Keeper Universe
ThrottleThread (Blog)
Contact
Kate Sjostrand | Author
Home
About
Writing
Keeper Universe
ThrottleThread (Blog)
Contact
Home
About
Writing
Keeper Universe
ThrottleThread (Blog)
Contact
They Should Walk Away Knowing They Mattered
Personal Essays & Reflections, Writing Life, Leadership Kate Sjostrand 5/2/26 Personal Essays & Reflections, Writing Life, Leadership Kate Sjostrand 5/2/26

They Should Walk Away Knowing They Mattered

There’s a moment in every project when it stops being an idea and becomes real. Not in some abstract way, but in that gut-level, holy shit this is actually happening way. That moment hit me this week when I opened the first full proof of A Survivor’s Guide to Survival.

Read More
Friendship Is the Front Edge of Romance
Personal Essays & Reflections, Writing Life, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 4/29/26 Personal Essays & Reflections, Writing Life, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 4/29/26

Friendship Is the Front Edge of Romance

Friendship, for me, isn’t light. It’s not small talk or shared drinks or passing time. It’s standing at the edge of someone’s soul and choosing to stay. And that’s exactly why I can’t tell where friendship ends and romance begins.

Read More
The Sting of “Sir”
Personal Essays & Reflections Kate Sjostrand 4/24/26 Personal Essays & Reflections Kate Sjostrand 4/24/26

The Sting of “Sir”

I pretend it doesn’t bother me. I’ve learned to pick my battles. But every “sir” lands, and over time, those moments add up in ways people don’t see.

Read More
The Ones Who Get It
Personal Essays & Reflections Kate Sjostrand 4/22/26 Personal Essays & Reflections Kate Sjostrand 4/22/26

The Ones Who Get It

Some people don’t do small talk. They don’t skim the surface or fill silence with noise. They go straight to the things that matter. When you find one of those people… you know.

Read More
The Edge of the Tear
Personal Essays & Reflections, Writing Life Kate Sjostrand 4/19/26 Personal Essays & Reflections, Writing Life Kate Sjostrand 4/19/26

The Edge of the Tear

I don’t write to decorate ideas. I write to catch the moment before they break, the edge of the tear, suspended between control and release.

Read More
I Got It Right
Personal Essays & Reflections, Writing Life Kate Sjostrand 4/11/26 Personal Essays & Reflections, Writing Life Kate Sjostrand 4/11/26

I Got It Right

I’m not smiling because I wrote a book. That’s just mile marker one. You don’t celebrate at mile marker one, you keep walking. You build strength. You send a signal to the universe that you’re not done. I’m smiling because I got the message right… and it’s landing.

Read More
Pain, But Progress
Personal Essays & Reflections, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 4/4/26 Personal Essays & Reflections, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 4/4/26

Pain, But Progress

They fixed it. That’s the truth. Nerve endings waking back up, sensation returning to places that have been dead since October. That part is a win. But healing isn’t clean. It’s not gentle. It’s sharp, throbbing, and relentless. This is what progress actually feels like.

Read More
Cut, Stitch, Publish
Personal Essays & Reflections, Writing Life, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 4/3/26 Personal Essays & Reflections, Writing Life, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 4/3/26

Cut, Stitch, Publish

On the same day I hand my face over to a surgeon’s knife, I’m waiting for something else to be born: my first book. One stitched back together. One finally set free. Either way, something changes today.

Read More
The Moment the Anger Leaves
Personal Essays & Reflections, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 3/13/26 Personal Essays & Reflections, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 3/13/26

The Moment the Anger Leaves

There’s a strange moment after betrayal when the anger finally disappears. It’s the moment you realize the person who once held your heart no longer holds your gravity.

Read More
Defiance
Personal Essays & Reflections, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 3/8/26 Personal Essays & Reflections, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 3/8/26

Defiance

Some betrayals can’t be spoken aloud. Not because they don’t matter, but because telling the full truth would burn more lives than it would heal. Tonight isn’t about revenge. Tonight is about defiance, integrity, and the quiet strength it takes to walk away while still protecting someone who never protected you.

Read More
The Chosen
Personal Essays & Reflections, Faith & Meaning, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 2/28/26 Personal Essays & Reflections, Faith & Meaning, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 2/28/26

The Chosen

There’s a difference between faith and performance. Between humility and ego dressed up as revelation. I’ve stood close to death, and what I experienced wasn’t loud.

Read More
We Are Not The Same
Personal Essays & Reflections, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 10/21/25 Personal Essays & Reflections, Freedom & Fire Kate Sjostrand 10/21/25

We Are Not The Same

One ride. One crash. One picture that lit a fire.
I don’t want to be your ally. I don’t want to be your therapist. I already came out, did the work, and live it every day. Don’t text me a photo of you playing pretend and expect applause. We are not the same.

Read More

Words forged in fire, ink, and steel.
© Kate Sjostrand

Email me: katelynsjostrand@gmail.com
Instagram:
@katelynsjostrand