MENTORS, METAPHORS, AND GRANDMOTHER DUOS

LIFE AS A BOOKMAN

Bookman: 1. a person who has a love of books and especially of reading. 2. a person who is involved in the writing, publishing, or selling of books. Oh, hi that's me!!

A bookman's paradise: I got the most lovely and surprising book in the mail, The Most Beautiful Book Places in the World, which takes the reader page by page through libraries and book shops. My brother gifted this to me (Thanks Craiggggg!!), and I'm savoring every page. The book places featured are all organized by location. Right now I'm in the Paris section (duh), which makes this book dangerous because if I see one more perfectly stunning place, I'll have to book a flight!!! I have this vision of booking my next vacation by flipping through and seeing what page/city/book place I land on. This coffee table book is lovely. And just as it is the PERFECT book for me, it would be the perfect gift for any book lovers in your life. (PS. I think this paragraph just set the record for unique uses of the word “book” sorrynotsorry.)

What I've been writing: Our astrologer gal Evangeline did some SILLY stuff in my pages this week. She is flying high on some publishing success, and also forgetting some of her own hard-earned lessons. So it'll be interesting to see how she gets out of the self-imposed pickle that is ahead ;) Like I mentioned last week...writing is making me feel GOOD about a lot of life's twists that I don't have control over. So if you're in any kind of way, any kind of funk, I take this moment to remind you that you're a creator, and creative energy can clear out that gunk. Write, journal, paint, play, doodle, letterwrite...I literally took the dog for a walk yesterday and was like how about I skip though?? Because skipping is fun!

WOMEN’S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history.

What does it cost to lose everything you own? I've recommended The Purse to you before (where I got to do a very fun profile about what DAISY cost me), but I've found myself thinking about this piece on more than on occasion since I read it last week. When I read the headline, I immediately thought: fire. Because when your big sis goes through something awful like a house fire (love you meg!!) that's obviously where minds go. While this piece isn't about a fire, though the loss is equally as devastating and wild, it's shows a beautiful side of humanity that comes along when some of the rough sides of humanity present themselves. Definitely give this one a read (and The Purse a follow).

How Jaclyn Johnson Does Money. We know that I'm a big friendship gal. I don't have as many “mentors” as I probably should have because my galpals are just so f*cking talented, wise, and immensely supportive. They fill that need. And when I look back on the last ten years of my life, a friend whose confidence & belief in me has materially altered my career is Jaclyn Johnson. She put me on her stages at Create&Cultivate. She sent intros my way (and just sent one yesterday!!). She kept it real when I needed her to keep it real. She put me at her table, literally, not only pouring me wine at the counter of her LA home, but when our books came out on the same day and she set up tables of my books next to tables of hers. Having her in my corner is a gd lottery ticket. Ali Kriegsman, the writer of this piece on Jac, did something here that IMO is hard to do, which is to capture Jaclyn in all of her multitudes. I love that these two teamed up because last year I randomly DM'd Ali after reading a post about how her novel didn't sell, and it was like looking into a mirror of what happened with Daisy. Ali is a fun writer, and what you'll see in this profile is writing that goes beyond the surface and gets to the grit that most people would have glossed over.

The Grandma Stand. A wise grandma to ask questions to?? This is such a fun one, that's touching and honestly make me a little bit regretful of all the questions I didn't ask my grandmothers while they were alive, even though I was old enough to know better. To be more intentional with my time with them. For whatever reason...I wasn't. I find myself wondering what they would think, what they had to go through, what experiences shaped the decisions they made, what they hoped for. They're both in my meditations and dreams a lot, as a duo. And it's kind of funny to think that for me, they're a pair...they're my grandmas...they carried the DNA that made me...and yet they sure as hell wouldn't see themselves as a duo of any kind, but a duo is how they show up in my spiritual life. Consider this your invitation to have your daughter take a photo with both of her grandmothers (if they're so lucky as to have them!) so they can have that image and memory and moment one day to draw on. But ya, the grandma stand, can someone in NYC go and tell me your experience!?

Other stray loves: I'm totally into Bridgerton szn 4, and it took me longer than it should to realize it's a straight up Cinderella retelling! My dear friend Libbie surprised me with this chic Le Bon cashmere bandana from Jones+CO that can be worn 4 ways, and in 4 days I've indeed worn it all 4 ways! Obsessed. And to end us on a real high...I've spent this week existentially fucked off about all things Epstein and this clip from my friend Kbrey perfectly sums up why we are simply not angry enough.

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine:

My favorite place in San Francisco has always been the Ferry Building. When you step inside, it's both purposeful, like you have somewhere to be and something to do, but also whimsical, like anything is possible: the best coffee, the best flowers, the best books. Between the light magnified off the Bay filling into the glass windows, and the bustle of people coming/going/staying...I just have always loved it!! This week I found out there is a new members' community space to meet and work on the second floor of the Ferry Building (who knew!?), and that one of my new friends is a member! So, she graciously took me there for a tea, for what ended up being a lovely, rainy afternoon. As I tried to orient why I love the Ferry Building so much, I was reminded of what we often talk about in writing, that Place is both part of a character's world, and a character itself. It shapes how we see things, and it shapes how we see ourselves. And if I layer that framing onto my own love of the Ferry Building, there's probably some overwrought metaphor about my love of this beautiful terminal, a place that welcomes. A place that feels like a solid yet soft landing from wherever (and whatever) I've left behind.

Woman on xx