I’m grateful... ( 👋 to be back)

Some thoughts & recommendations to start your weekend

Writing with Martino! (He looks sweet but he drooled all over me!)

I’m grateful to have survived the 10 darkest weeks of the year, and for the light that now lingers in the sky every morning and evening. I’m grateful to you, for sticking with me through my January publishing break and to my past self who decided ‘fuck the algorithm, I need to rest’. I’m grateful to be back sharing my words with you, and for the intimacy of being invited into your inbox. It’s a gift I never take for granted. 

I’m grateful for the pleasures that January brought, like a fascinating course on Whimsigoth Writers with

maeve o'brien writes

, my annual yoga challenge¹ and the Artist’s Way which I’m doing with

Ali Griffin Vingiano

’s group. I’m grateful for the phrase: rest is the only way to keep going, which I’ve been thinking about a lot. 

I’m grateful to have written a lot this month and to have published this piece in Image Magazine about the dangers of diet culture. I’m grateful for the sparks of creative energy that have returned and how it changes the way I experience the world. I’m grateful to be noticing the slivers of light between nude tree branches, the crunch of frost underfoot and the way human heads tilt minutely to the side when their owners are confused. I’m grateful to have re-orientated my about page, which now includes a lot more cat content, and for the excitement I feel about how this space will grow and change this year. 

I’m grateful to have returned to this simple, grounding practice of writing a few paragraphs of gratitude and recommendations to you each Friday morning, and for how reaching out feels hopeful even when things are hard. 

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Recommendations

📺 I watched The Holdovers last night and loved it. Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph absolutely deserve their Oscar nominations, and I spent much of today’s morning pages dissecting the script’s magic structure. 

🎧 I’ve been revisiting episodes of Homecooking for comfort over the last few weeks and they really stand up. This chat with Jason Mantzoukas is a riot! 

🥣 I’ve cooked a lot this past month, but I wanted to shout out these cheese scones and this tomato, lentil soup in particular. Both were delicious. 

📚 I’m just about to finish Sarah Polley’s essay collection ‘Run Towards the Danger’. She wrote six masterfully crafted essays about different seasons of her life which interrogate memory, the body and what it means to survive. I loved it! 

💍 I adored this Leslie Jamison essay. Can’t wait for her new book. 

⭐ And here’s a Substack post I loved,

Lisa Olivera

reflecting on the publication of her first book two years ago: 

Two years since

1. I completed just 10/30 videos, but I’m still working on it!