how the sausage is made but also how much the sausage costs per pound
In 2013 I got up all my gumption to pitch a long first person essay to an editor at the New Yorker. The editor was very nice about the pitch, which he...
always a sucker for a pagan blood ritual
Hi! As promised, here are some cultural experiences, described. BOOKS Lauren Oyler recommended Painting Time by Maylis de Kerengal in Bookforum and I...
Black bean and chorizo soup
We spent Thanksgiving with my family in Maryland which meant that we spent all of Sunday driving home, then unpacking and attempting to reregulate our...
gift guide from a Libra sun/Aries moon/Aries rising
As an expert on vanity and self-indulgence, I am innately good at having ideas for presents. Buying, wrapping, delivering presents on time ... these are not...
Raffi is six and a half
On Sunday, some of Ilya's besties and their parents came over for a playdate. Raffi handled being the oldest kid in the room decently well, only dramatically...
As for Qs: Gift ideas for parents, writing prompts, GF recs, mycareer
Heyyyyyy I know I said I was going to answer questions about pregnancy and second-kid agita in the next round but I gave it a shot and ended up feeling a...
Blind spot
"What I don't understand is why you never got a license in the first place. What happened?" I have been avoiding writing about my driving lessons. It had...
AMA questions answered!
I was so pleasantly surprised and fascinated by the range and quantity of questions! I really want to get to them all eventually. I'm choosing a few for...
AMA within reason
Hi my cherished premium subscribers, I owe you one -- actually two but who's counting -- premium newsletters. I was going to send them both out tomorrow but...
who should a person be?
Last weekend I left my home and family and ventured out on my own for the first time in 10,000 years. I saw the great big world outside of Brooklyn and it...
perchance to dream
Minor complaint: my kids recently forgot how to sleep and it's ruining my life. Neither of them has ever been a champion sleeper, though Ilya has always been...
Sail away
I spent most of today in a state known to myself privately (but I guess now also known to you) as "LLTE," which stands for Literally Listening To Enya....
Someone who is good at the economy please help me
As a 7th anniversary gift to my beloved Capricorn husband, I just spent several days itemizing one month of our family's living expenses. Reader, you may be...
galaxy brain kidney take
Even for a saint like me who is off Twitter, the kidney article could not be denied its due. Last Thursday morning my writing group started group-texting...
birthday presents
My birthday, October 13th, has always felt lucky to me. Of course, there are lots of logical reasons why October probably feels lucky for everyone, not just...
On how many babies to have
I know I said I would answer premium subscriber reader q in the next free issue, but I wanted to address this emotionally intimate question here in the...
Franzen launch event recap!
I'm just a girl, standing in front of a culture, asking for one tiny favor: Can we expend as much intellectual energy as we generally expend on every marquee...
Boundaries goals/ boundaries fails
Fails: In my defense, I was in a vulnerable place: a party, bizarrely enough, with tons of people whose names and faces all felt distantly recognizable in...
Literally show me a person with healthy boundaries
Yesterday I searched my email inbox for a pdf of letterhead for a college where I once taught as an adjunct so that I could write a recommendation for a...
professionalizing your hobbies: pro and con
Because I was trying to downplay to myself that it would be my first in-person yoga class since February 2020, I purposely picked a teacher I didn't know. At...