Monthly Roundup: September 2026

Woooo! September was a doozy, in the best way possible. At the beginning of the month, I was in Sydney to run the marathon there. At the end of the month, I was in Berlin to run the marathon THERE. TWO marathons and I lived to tell the tale. Both were epic and I am ready for some R&R now. Let’s get into the roundup!

Quotes I loved this month:

“It’s clear as ever how desperately we need books; we need other voices, other whole perspectives. We’re communal animals, and we learn more from difference than we do from sadness.” —Gloria Steinem (rest in peace and power)

Hold nothing back.
The heart’s a deep well.
And when it’s empty,
It will fill again.
—Gregory Orr

Books I read:

Plane time means LOTS of reading. I stuck to all fiction this month, which is rare for me. I needed some good escapes.

I have to say I enjoyed ALL of these. There wasn’t a single dud. But my favorites were:

Skin Contact — About a couple who tries an open marriage and experiences all its inevitable complications.
A Family Matter — A story of family secrets and how society’s past (and still present sometimes) condemnation of gay couples can have lasting effects on a family.
Flesh — Booker Prize Winner, with a main character named István and the various experiences in his life. This book shows how one moment can have lasting repercussions. Sometimes I find prize-winning novels to be not accessible, but this was an easy read and pulled me in.
Whistler — Ann Patchett is a great storyteller and I just fell in love with the characters in this book. It’s about a woman named Daphne who reconnects with her former stepfather, Eddie, and learns why he and her mother divorced when she was a kid.

What I’ve been watching:

Plane time also means lots of shows. Documentaries were my jam this month.

“Trust Me: The False Prophet.” Documentary about another one of them cult men who has multiple wives and is a disgusting human being.
“The Murdaugh Murders.” Documentary series following a series of tragic events in one family. So interesting. Could not stop watching.
“Death of the Pastor’s Wife.” Another documentary highlighting what happens when religion is abused. This one really got to me.
“The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson.” This one was sad. I feel for Moriah’s family and friends.
“Mary Oliver: Saved By the Beauty of the World.” If you’re a Mary Oliver fan, watch this. Some of the readings of her poems brought tears to my eyes.
“The Dark Wizard.” A really haunting 4-parter about climber Dean Potter. The footage is just astounding and the story is so captivating.
“Jack Johnson: Surfilmusic.” I saw this was playing for one night at my local theater and had to go. Love his music. Great vibes.
“Youth.” The new Sharon Horgan show (LOVE HER) about the ups and downs of female midlife.
“Project Hail Mary.” This has been on my list for a while and finally watched it on a plane ride. Why did I cry about the rock guy?
“100 Foot Wave.” I love this docuseries, but kind of forgot about it after season 2. I’m almost through season 3 now. It’s so good. You do not need to be a surfer to enjoy.

Writing news:

I’ve been making notes and doing some preliminary research for a new novel, but waiting to start writing until I see what’s next for the novel I submitted to my agent a while back. So, no news, but I’m always, always, always writing something.

Interesting things I learned this month:

31% of U.S. adults interact with an AI chatbot at least once a day
Anemoia is feeling nostalgic for a time you never lived through. This is me with the 1960s
A team of scientists published a study that pushed back the timeline of known human drug use by thousands of years. They described a hunter-gatherer from Indonesia at least 16,000 years ago who appeared to have regularly sucked on betel nuts, possibly as a painkiller. The nuts, which have psychoactive properties, are still chewed by more than 600 million people today
A new kind of cat was found for the first time in 103 years. It’s called a tilcayo and lives in the cloud forests of Bolivia’s section of the Andes Mountains. They are smaller than most house cats
At a recent competition in China, SIX-YEAR-OLD Lian Yunzhi broke the women’s world record by solving the Rubik’s Cube in 4.52 seconds. Just a few days later, she lowered her own record to 4.27 seconds. Her mother says her daughter practices two to three hours a day
A scientist spent 64 hours tracking wild pygmy racoons near a beach club in Mexico, watching them fish paper receipts out of the trash, crumple them into tight spheres, and play with them like makeshift balls. This is the first time racoons have been recorded engaging in what’s called “material culture” (using objects and learning from others how to use them)
A study out of MIT (“Your Brain on ChatGPT“) showed that heavy users of AI had a 47% reduction in brain connectivity
“How to kill a woman without leaving a trace” was googled 163 million times in 2025. Cool cool cool
The U.S. ranks 36th in global literacy. 54% of American adults read at or below a sixth-grade level. YIKES

What I’m grateful for:

Time in Australia with my sister. We haven’t had this much sister time together in YEARS. We explored Sydney and then stayed at Tamarama Beach for a few days. It was lovely. The marathon course was tough, but I finished in 3:47 (far from a PR, but totally fine with me!)
Time in Berlin with my mom. I love that I was able to combine these marathon trips with family time. Berlin is a super cool city with lots of interesting history. The course was flat and should have been easy, but my body was over it at the halfway point—finished in 3:49
A supportive co-parent who watched our kid AND my pets while I was gone on both trips. I’m really lucky
Backyard renovation. It’s underway! I’ve been saving and planning for this for a long time and it’s finally happening
Lots of fun this week. I got back last night and have hit the ground running with my daughter’s birthday week. We are doing ear piercings today (her second, my third), a concert tomorrow, mani/pedi Friday, a party on Saturday, and a family dinner on Sunday. Who has time for jet lag?