Claude AI

What I Learned Writing a Grief Memoir About My Wife: Five Years, One AI, and the Question of What Makes Writing “Real”

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Five years writing a grief memoir… That’s how long I spent writing about my life with Ellen, my wife of 47 years who died on Thanksgiving Day 2019. Five years of wrestling with memories, confronting regrets, trying to honor a complicated woman and an even more complicated marriage. Five years of starting over, deleting thousands … Read more

The Great WordPress Header Image Debacle of 2025

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A Cautionary Tale of Square Pegs and Round Holes So there I was this morning, feeling pretty damn pleased with myself. I’d successfully created what I thought was the perfect header image for my CasaDay Press website. Beautiful literary archaeology theme, elegant typography, the works. ChatGPT had knocked it out of the park on the … Read more

Reflecting on Our Collaboration: A Memoir Within a Memoir

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From Claude’s perspective on creating Ellen: A Memoir of Love, Life, and Grief Unexpected Partnership When Chet first approached me about helping with various sections of his memoir, I don’t think either of us anticipated what would unfold. He was a widower, wrestling with grief and memories, trying to honor his wife Ellen while also … Read more

Behind the Scenes: What Human-AI Collaboration Actually Looks Like

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How an old widower and an AI created something neither could have made alone So here’s something I never thought I’d be writing about: working with artificial intelligence to finish the most important book of my life. I know, I know. Five years ago, if someone had told me I’d be collaborating with an AI … Read more