Happy Friday! And Happy Easter to those who celebrate. We do the egg hunt and the basket of goodies. I may get wild and make a quiche. Whatever you’re doing this weekend, I hope it’s fun and/or relaxing (or both—that’s the magical combination).
Quote of the week:
“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” — Joseph Campbell
What I’m reading:
I’m just about to finish Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Durraj. It’s a novel in interlinked stories about Palestinian Americans in Baltimore. I’ve really enjoyed it.
What I’m listening to:
I just finished Things I Learned From Falling, a memoir by Claire Nelson. She had a devastating fall in Joshua Tree and was rescued (which was something of a miracle). She writes about how the experience taught her about the importance of leaning on people after a past of being hyper-independent. This resonated with me.
What I’m watching:
I just finished and loved Season 2 of Life & Beth. I hope I don’t have to wait too long for Season 3. I love it.
Writing news:
Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate my book deal! I think I did a good job of hiding my social anxiety (ha) and I feel very grateful to have so much support. Special thanks to my sister for helping me with everything for the event.
I’m working away on the second novel in my two-book deal with Lake Union. The first novel is done, but will go through some edits. That one releases next year. The one I’m writing now will release in 2026.
Last, there was some exciting podcast news this week. My first novel, People Who Knew Me, was made into a podcast series for BBC sounds, starring Rosamund Pike and Hugh Laurie. Writer/director Daniella Isaacs is amazing, by the way. Rosamund Pike just won Best Actress at the Audio Drama Awards for her performance. I really couldn’t have asked for a better voice for this character. You can listen to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts—Spotify, Apple, etc.
Interesting things I learned this week:
- Jasmin Paris, 40, became the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons, a footrace that requires participants to navigate 100 miles of rugged Tennessee terrain in no more than 60 hours. She finished with 99 seconds to spare, making her one of only 20 people to complete the Barkley since it was extended to 100 miles in 1989
- 22% of the world’s species are egg-laying beetles
- Men make up only 20% of the people who buy and read novels
- According to a new report from the World Bank, NO COUNTRY IN THE WORLD affords women the same opportunities as men in the workforce. Well, this is depressing
- For every additional year you educate a girl, her average lifetime wages increase by 18%
- The German word drachenfutter, literally “dragon food,” is “a gift a man buys for his wife after he has made her angry”
- In French, you don’t say “I miss you.” You say “tu me manques,” which means “you are missing from me.” This is so sweet
- Lungs are incredibly foldy, containing a surface area equivalent to half a basketball court (!)
- In the US, the average woman will outlive the average man by about 5 to 7 years
- Only 4% of applicants for the NYC Marathon got into the race. Sadly, I was not one of them despite being a time qualifier. So bummed. For reference, a high schooler has a better chance of getting into Yale (5%) or playing college football (7%) than an applicant had of getting into the NYC Marathon
- For the first time in history, the US Labor Department may start measuring the value of unpaid household work – which is usually done by women. If so, this could drive new policies to reduce gender and economic inequity. Related: The Labor Department commissioned a think tank at Bard College to do a study, and they found that women perform 78% of the US’s total unpaid household work, including childcare and care for elderly and disabled adults
- As of 2000, 1 in 5 NIH clinical drug trials still wasn’t using any female subjects, and of the studies that did, nearly two-thirds didn’t bother analyzing their data for sex differences. Wtf
- Roughly 10% of men are red-green color-blind
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“squirrels in a litter.” I saw something on Instagram that said that squirrels can have up to 15 babies in a litter (“and now I understand why they run in front of cars”). This seemed like a lot so I googled. I learned that they typically have 2 litters a year, with 2 to 4 babies per litter… though they CAN have up to 8 in a single litter. So, I guess if they had 2 litters of 8 each, they could have 16 babies in a year.
What I’m grateful for:
- My book club, which met last Friday. I LOVE this group of women. They fill my cup
- A successful book party. I’ll do another when the book releases next year!
- A fun Spring Break trip coming up
- A bunch of other things: Concert performances by my daughter, texts that make me feel loved, therapy, pet snuggles, beautiful sunrises, new-to-me IPAs, playdates
