ALABAMA, WORKING MEMOIR, AND 100-YEAR INSIGHTS

LIFE OF 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 working Autobiography: I was recommended Deborah Levy's work by the mother of my long-time work wife, and it did not disappoint. In fact, I'm tempted to devour everything Levy has ever written, but I'm holding off because great writing should be savored. The tensions she described between being a writer and fulfilling the expectations of her gender as homemaker, wife and mother were powerful (to say the least). Her prose stopped me in my tracks not once, but many, many times as she stewards the reader through the dissolution of her marriage, the struggles of her writing career, new friendships, and the death of her mother. Somehow, I put down the slender memoir feeling hopeful, and that the cost of living – and her book by the same name – is indeed worth it.

What I'm writing: Who knew I could write my way into a giant stye, but apparently that's exactly what I did. After submitting That Novel, I woke up the following morning with my eye puffed shut. And to think I would be feeling so accomplished! So unattached to the outcome! So ready for “whatever happens”. My body had a very different opinion on the matter, ha. Warm compresses for the win.

WOMEN'S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history. A few for the canon: The ruling in Alabama over fetal personhood, that embryos are “children”, warps my brain. Truly melts it. Post-Roe America is getting scarier and scarier and scarier to me with every passing day. The implications are astounding and feel like we're living in the preface to a Margaret Atwood dystopian thriller. Jessica Valenti's breakdown of what this ruling means will scare you, and it should. Now isn't the time to look away.

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine: Everyone you know will be dead in 100 years. That's the gift of insight that the brilliant and wildly talented artist Katherine Sandoz gifted me as we sat together at the Telfair Ball, benefitting Savannah's beloved Telfair Museums. I haven't stopped thinking about it, about what it means for what matters (and what doesn't). About what it means for what to prioritize (and what to not). It's really trippy when you really contemplate how true this fact of life is. To me, it means squeeze it all out of this one, right now. And if you're going to make some things, make some things born out of love that could be passed down. Stories are heirlooms, indeed, so I'm reminded to stay very connected to which ones need to be told (and reminded) for centuries to come.

xx