Quote of the Week:
“Activating empathy in my reader is my motivation for writing. I want my writing to elicit understanding, therefore kindness, love, compassion.” –Mira Ptacin in Poets & Writers
What I’m reading:
Fault Lines by Emily Itami
What I’m listening to:
Slow Motion: A Memoir of a Life Rescued by Tragedy by Dani Shapiro
I’ve also been listening to the Missing on 9/11 podcast. A reader emailed me to ask if the story of this woman inspired my first novel. I didn’t even know there was a real-life person who potentially faked her death on 9/11. I’m hooked.
What I’m watching:
Scenes from a Marriage on HBO
Our Friend on Amazon Prime (great movie. Warning: you will cry)
Writing news:
I was on the Wine, Women and Words podcast to talk about No Hiding in Boise. I absolutely hate listening to myself so I haven’t listened to the episode, but I did enjoy the conversation when it happened in real time 🙂
What I’m talking about:
- The arrival of Fall. This is definitely my favorite season. Yes, I know we don’t really have seasons in California, but I swear the air does feel a little different
- Homelessness in California. In polls after the recall election, voters said Covid was their number 1 concern, followed by homelessness. The homeless population in CA increased 7% last year alone
- Climate change. A couple days ago the UN Secretary General said, “the world is on a catastrophic pathway” (read here). It’s beyond individuals needing to take action; governments need to put decarbonization policies in place NOW
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Noodle on it.” I used this phrase in a conversation with my mom and sister and they both looked at me like I’m insane. They didn’t believe it was a real phrase. I had to double check. It is.
Interesting things I learned this week:
- It’s not true that plastic bottles are 100% recyclable. The US recycling system can only handle a quarter of the more than 100 billion bottles produced each year
- 1/3 of Americans under 45 say they don’t want to have kids or will have fewer kids because of climate change
- Only one country has submitted plans to mitigate climate change by 2030 (and that country is Gambia)
- The average age of US Senators is 64, the oldest in US history
- If American pets made up their own country, they’d be the #5 meat-eating country in the world
- According to one survey, couples are 30% more annoyed with each other than they were before the pandemic
- In 2020, Alabama had more deaths than births
What I’m grateful for:
The long emails my friends and I write to each other. Snuggling with pets. Good books (really enjoying the ones I’m reading/listening to now). Sleep (I’ve felt very tired lately). Therapy. The joy of writing a new book (it’s slow-going; please don’t ask me about it ;)). I’m also loving my morning runs lately, with views like the one below. I’m in the thick of marathon training and my body is feeling it. It’s so nice to be out there though. I never take my health for granted.
