LEAVE BEHINDS, PAST SELVES, AND THE OLYMPICS

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!!

Showtime: Ok last week I told you about Once More From the Top by Emily Layden – which is a musical superstar character, Dylan Read, who is confronted with the darkest parts of her past going viral. I finished it last night and loved it, in all its complicated layers of selfhood – who am I? who am I pretending to be? at what point does the pretending become real? The mystery of Dylan's childhood secret isn't what hooked me, but rather the very relatable experience of our concept of the past and how the past has a heavy hand in shaping who we are. But does it have to be that way? And what if that past narrative was all wrong? How much will that unravel our self-concept of today? I loved the way Layden captured the complexities of friendship in early girlhood – It reminded me of Elena Ferrante's writing. If you love the rawness of the Neapolitan novels or the fame culture from Curtis Sittenfield's Romantic Comedy, you'll probably love Once More From the Top. It hits shelves on September 10th. Pre-order away!!

What I'm writing: Last week I hit “submit” on a manuscript that I ghostwrote and it felt SO good. One of my besties asked me if milestones like that feel any different when it's someone else's book, versus my own, and honestly, I had to think about it. Parts of it feel very the same (relief! celebration! holy sh*t!), but there's a lightness to the milestone when it's ghostwriting that I should probably adopt for my own work. Less attachment. More ease.

WOMAN’S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history. A few for the canon:

I love women's sports!!!!!!!! It has been so much fun watching the badass athletes in the Olympics. I've been absolutely glued to indoor and beach volleyball. Paris 2024 is the first time that women and men are competing in equal numbers, but do you know how we got here? And by here I mean women competing in the Olympics at all? A century ago it was considered “improper” for women to compete for gold. But then Alice Milliat stepped in. Get to know this woman's contributions and her story. Because without her commitment and fight, we wouldn't have Simone, or Ilona, or Ledecky or Drews or or or or or or or or or

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine:

Skye and I have been hunkered down this week with ole Debby Downer (tropical storm). I've eaten all my hurricane snacks!! Every time. But hunkered down with the pup was a soft landing from a lot of hang time with my best girlfriends from many parts of life...all gathered into one, 10-day trip. As I stuffed my face with Whitaker's Coconut Slab (coco crack, that is) hand delivered to me from New Zealand (thanks Mo!!) and gabbed about everything and nothing with women who've known me the better part of my life, I just kept thinking how lucky I am to have so many humans who feel like home. On this trip, I traveled with blank Artist Trading Cards, so I could leave little love notes behind. I love these because they're easy, quick, and great for a doodle + message. My favorite “leave behind”!

Woman on xx