Quote of the week:
“I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking books and the stars. I started listening to the teachings of my soul.” –Rumi
What I’m reading:
Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life — Dani Shapiro
What I’m listening to:
Friends and Strangers — J. Courtney Sullivan
I listen to several podcasts each week. This week, I really enjoyed Brené Brown’s discussion with Amy Cuddy on pandemic flux syndrome.
What I’m watching:
Scenes from a Marriage on HBO
On the Verge on Netflix (though I think I’ll abandon this soon)
Writing news:
I can finally share the cover of my new book with you! Drumroll please….
Here’s the synopsis:
Dave is a Dad with Asperger’s. He sees the world differently than most, and he feels like he has no idea what he’s doing when it comes to raising his 15-year-old daughter, Cleo. She also feels like he has no idea what he’s doing, especially now that her mom is gone.
They were both better off when Jana was around―Dave’s wife, Cleo’s mother. But now she’s not, and they are left to figure out life on their own. Dave dedicates his attention to his newfound hobby of doomsday prepping, researching the various ways the world could end. Cleo feels like her world already has.
Everything changes when neighbors move in, threatening their isolation in the hills of San Juan Capistrano. Cleo is intrigued by the new girl, Edie, and soon finds out the intrigue is mutual. Dave, not at all intrigued, is forced to come to terms with everything he cannot control.
As they struggle to live in the present, both Dave and Cleo must dare to revisit the tragic past they share. What happened to Jana? Who was she, really? Who are they without her?
Ways the World Could End is a story of grief, friendship, and love―the love between parents and children, between spouses, between teenagers, and between strangers. It is a story that requires us to consider the bounds of forgiveness, what we’re willing and not willing to forgive, and reminds us that often the hardest thing to forgive is ourselves.
It comes out on May 10!! You can pre-order directly from my publisher here, or wherever you usually buy your books.
What I’m talking about:
- The recall election in California. I’m pleased with the result, but disappointed by the complete waste of time, money, and energy
- The Larry Nassar hearing. I continue to be so saddened by how this investigation was botched and how these women were dismissed for so long (more here)
- The Biden administration suing Texas in an attempt to block the nation’s most restrictive abortion law. I’m assuming this will then go to the Supreme Court…but then what? They already approved the legislation
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Clogged ears after running.” I’ve noticed that my ears feel clogged after my hard runs. I guess this is due to my eustachian tubes… From one doctor: “Vasomotor rhinitis results from changes to the condition of the air, ie humidity or temperature, as it enters the respiratory airway. When the body is under exertion and you begin to sweat and alter breathing patterns, the mucous membranes in various locations of the sinuses, nasal passages, pharyngeal region and eustachian canals can become swollen or begin weeping as a result of vasomotor changes.” Who knew?
Interesting things I learned this week:
- The daughter of the famous “Jane Roe” from Roe v Wade has written a book discussing what it’s like to grow up knowing her mother wanted to abort her (she was given up for adoption)
- The Taliban announced that women will no longer be allowed to play sports
- Americans waste about a pound of food per person per day, and food waste contributes a greater carbon footprint than the airline industry
- Beginning in 2022, France will offer free birth control to all women up to age 25
- The world’s largest plant that sucks carbon dioxide from the air and deposits it underground has opened in Iceland
- Last year in Kenya, there were ZERO rhinos lost to poaching
What I’m grateful for:
I had a wonderful solo weekend away last weekend, which was just what I needed. I took myself out to eat, read at the beach, went for a run, read (a lot), did some writing, slept in, napped. It was glorious.
