Things to Love: Reaching the other side edition
3 stellar books, 1 pitch-perfect show, my never-miss podcast + 2 travel experiences I won't soon forget.
Hello, fellow travelers! After a string of damp, dreary days here in northern Michigan, the sun made an appearance first thing this morning. The light and warmth boosted my spirits and has me thinking about a trek later today to Lake Michigan.
I’m doing my best to get outside for a trail hike or run every day, and to keep up with my morning yoga practice. I seem to be on a roll lately, for whatever reason — sometimes motivation not only shows up but sticks around — and so I am grabbing hold of this energy and remain hopeful that it won’t slip away anytime soon.
Maybe this spike in let’s-f’ing-go exuberance is due to feeling like I’ve arrived on the other side … the other side of what exactly I’m not sure I can yet fully articulate. Or that I’ve downshifted to a slightly slower pace after a late winter and spring that had me hopping and scurrying like an excited rabbit at times, preparing for one thing after another after another. I interviewed for and started a new job and I juggled what felt like a higher-than-normal amount of family and personal commitments, celebrations and obligations.
It’s felt like a lot, even as it’s also been among the best times of my life.
But now I’ve caught my breath, or I am catching my breath. Now, I am sitting here quietly, reminding myself that I’m not dropping the ball on anything, that it’s good to rest and take stock, and that the dust settling all around me is a good thing — a great thing even — and it’s more than OK to lean into this. I’m trying to turn my attention to doing the things that I need and want to do, for myself.
I’ve given a lot of myself lately — I am not complaining, I’ve wanted to show up in these ways big and small — and now my mind is telling me to just … be. Don’t worry so much, really let go, don’t hold on so tightly. And, everything will be OK. It is OK.
Unearthing dormant motivation just may lie in placing a priority on ourselves and what we need and want — not what others want for us or expect from us, but what we want for ourselves. A seemingly simple concept that’s not so easily executed perhaps, but when we actually do this? Magic happens. Or at the very least, we begin to experience hours or days or weeks when we feel like our true selves again, like we’ve survived a tsunami and can now take in the stillness and, if we allow it, the perspective that washes over us now that the chaos and excitement have receded.
Maybe you can relate? Transitions are near-constants, particularly during certain seasons of life, it seems.
It’s been on my mind for awhile now to share some of the books, podcasts, shows and experiences that have helped me in recent time — all things I think you’ll appreciate and, I hope, take in however you need to as you move through your own journey and transitions. So, let’s get to it: the latest edition of Things to Love.
📚Reading
I’m still thinking about these three books I read in the past couple of months: Famesick by Lena Dunham, The Gulf of Lions by Caitlin Shetterly and The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout.
📚 I’ll read anything Caitlin Shetterly writes — I discovered her a few years ago when a friend recommended her novel Pete and Alice in Maine — and her latest is as engrossing, beautiful, honest and delicious as I’d hoped it would be. It’s a standalone novel that picks up where Pete and Alice in Maine ended. It’s described as “an evocative sequel about a mother who, recovering from the trauma of breast cancer and a mastectomy, takes a once-in-a-lifetime trip across France with her two daughters. In France, she finds out what it means to fully live.” I devoured this book in a few days, not wanting it to end.
📚 I don’t typically listen to audio books — I prefer to hold a book in my hands and read it that way — but with a bunch of work travel on my schedule this spring, I decided to download Lena Dunham’s extraordinary memoir so I could listen while driving around the state. While I’ve watched some episodes of Girls, the 2010s show Dunham created, produced and starred in, and I’ve known of her as an actor and writer, I never followed her too closely. After listening to her in this New York Times interview, and then another one with Monica Lewinsky, I knew I wanted to read her memoir. She’s an incredible writer and I was completely pulled into her story and the juicy details she shares about her experience as a young creative woman in New York City (she was just 24 when Girls began!) and in Hollywood. I really liked that it’s her voice reading her words in the audio version.
📚 Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel, The Things We Never Say, is a masterclass (as her books tend to be) in compelling character development and beautiful, concise storytelling. I felt like these characters were friends or family members — they felt so real, so flawed and interesting, to me. Strout is just so good at the craft of writing, and this story of a man in midlife “living a double life” and wrestling with how life has turned out for him was somewhat unexpectedly fascinating to me. From the book’s description: “He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?” This novel is also compact, just over 200 pages, so I finished it fairly quickly. It was a delight to read and made me think and feel in ways I didn’t expect.
👀 Watching & 🎧 Listening
👀 I’m a little late to Widow’s Bay — everyone seems to be talking about this horror-comedy show on Apple TV now — but am I ever enjoying it, thanks to my friend Sarah who recommended it. This series strikes the perfect balance between subtle hilarity and creepy-scary. I’m not one for horror (thought I once was as a kid; ask me how many times I watched Poltergeist and still quote lines), but Widow’s Bay somehow pulls it off so you’re never overly freaked out but yet still bracing yourself for a jump-scare (and there are jump-scares). Then, peppered throughout and sometimes when you least expect it, a conversation among characters or during some silly circumstance gets you laughing. It’s a fun summer watch, trust me. And, Welsh actor Matthew Rhys once again kills it, this time as the mayor of this fictional cursed New England island town.
🎧 Every Wednesday I am tuning into No Country for Old Women, a podcast hosted by two of my favorite writers, Jenn Romolini and Kimberly Harrington. I’ve long been following both of these writers on Substack (and in Jenn’s case, also on her previous podcasts Everything is Fine and Extended Scenes), and I’m absolutely loving this collaboration. I’m laughing out loud every time I listen to this podcast they describe as “a podcast for women just trying to live in this world.” If you’re a Gen X woman, this is a must-listen. Here’s the latest episode, and I encourage you to check out their earlier ones, too.
🗺️ Traveling
One of my greatest joys as a writer for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is having the opportunity to tell the stories of our state parks and trails and other natural and cultural areas throughout the state. And sometimes these stories take me to places that hold special meaning to me.
📍Last month, I traveled north, to Tahquamenon Falls State Park in the Upper Peninsula, to cover the story of an all-new 1,100-foot accessible boardwalk at the Upper Falls that replaced an aging staircase. Many of you know that this area of Michigan is where I camped as a child and where Joe and I honeymooned and camped with our kids many times throughout their childhoods. From my DNR story:
For those using wheelchairs, experiencing the iconic, 200-foot-wide, amber-hued Upper Falls up close was impossible. What stood in the way was a 94-step staircase that led park visitors to a viewing platform.
“We heard time and time again from people that because of accessibility, they had never been to the brink, had never been able to feel that spray hit their face or smell the river,” said Kevin Dennis, park manager at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in the Upper Peninsula’s Luce and Chippewa counties.
I was there at the park to help celebrate the boardwalk’s opening with a special ribbon cutting. It was so fun and meaningful being part of this and getting to talk with visitors and see firsthand what this new boardwalk means for several people who use wheelchairs and who attended the ceremony, and who haven’t been able to see the Upper Falls up close until now.
This boardwalk is dog-friendly and stroller-friendly, too! It’s stunning, and you need to see it for yourself!
📍My second travel experience of late that will forever stay with me is my week in New York City helping Emma move into her new apartment in Queens. I’m still processing this exciting and emotional experience, and I imagine I’ll be sharing more about this major transition soon. For now, you can read about a steamy-hot run Emma and I shared in Astoria Park. And here’s one of my favorite moments with Emma in the city.
Thank you for being here and for reading. If you’re going through a transition, or if something else I’ve shared today resonated with you, I’d love to know! Share a comment below — I really enjoy hearing from you!
More soon,
Heather
XO
Thanks for listening to / recommending NCFOW!
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