Help Out

I do appreciate you being 'round

Welcome to Joy Ride, a monthly dose of joy, good things, creativity prompts, and gratitude by writer Jennifer Chen. If you like it, please share this newsletter with someone who might like it too.

Your Pep Talk 🫲🏻

On Sunday, I arrived at Best Friends Animal Society, ready to volunteer in the kitten nursery. While I was in the parking lot of the shelter, a staff member texted me that most of the kittens had gone to foster so it would be a light day. I said it was fine. A mama cat and her kittens were the sole occupants while I set up kennels with soft blankets, toys, and litter boxes. Mama cat looked tired as her three kittens play fought (I hear you, mama!) and I cleaned out their kennel and gave them fresh wet food.

It was quiet and I loved it. There’s something very calming to me to be around animals. It’s my happy place.

With two kids, a book manuscript to finish, and life, things are always busy, but I’ve found that when I volunteer my time to help a friend, care for kittens, or mentor a teen, I always feel inspired, energized, and hopeful.

What are causes you believe in? How can you lend a helping hand? A few simple ideas to get you started:

• Drop off gently used towels or blankets to your local shelter.

• Check in on a friend.

• Bake some cookies for a teacher or librarian.

• Offer to help a teen or kid with a project.

• Write a thank you note to someone who has helped you.

• Read a book to shelter dogs.

• Give a stranger a genuine compliment.

• Email an author that you loved their book (we love this!).

• Put some gently used books in a free little library.

Book Giveaway! 📚

My publishers sent me some advance reader copies of my next young adult novel, Hangry Hearts. I’d love to drop one in the mail for you. Fill out this form if you’d like to be considered. I’ll randomly choose one reader and send you a personalized pep talk via snail mail.

My Latest News 🐾

Since August, I’ve been writing a blog for Yahoo Creators called Must Love Pets. I share interviews with notable people about their cute cuddly companions, pet products I adore, and research-backed ways that animals make our lives better. If you’d like to be interviewed, please fill out this interest form.

So far, I’ve written about how to support animals after the devastating hurricanes, how to deal with pet loss as a family, and the best $27 I spent on pet gear.

Check Out This... 🥐

TV SHOW: Great British Baking Show has a new season on Netflix for those in the US. I adore this show and just want to remind you that collection 12 is now airing week by week.

MOVIE: The Wild Robot (out now in theaters) is based off the chapter book of the same name. My twins read it in their school last year as part of their school-wide book club. Let me tell you that this animated movie is beyond gorgeous and for any parent, it captures the uncertainty and the love that encompasses raising a kid.

BOOK: Hot and Bothered by Jancee Dunn is a how-to guide on menopause that is also hilarious. My friend Laura recommended it to me and I love it.

ESSAYS: My friends wrote some fantastic essays recently. My friend Tara Ellison wrote this beautiful nonfiction essay, “Lonely and depressed at 50, I launched my own midlife reboot,” on learning to find happiness in taking care of seals for the LA Times. The wonderful Emily Barth Isler wrote about 20 years of breast cancer scares and the anxiety that comes with finding beauty in the wilderness for Oprah Daily.

NONPROFIT: Please consider donating to Best Friends’ disaster relief fund, which is on the ground in North Carolina, providing food and relief for humans, dogs, and cats who were displaced from the recent hurricane. The organization has sent staff to help relieve exhausted shelter workers. I’m a volunteer for the local branch and have seen firsthand other volunteers posting about heading to Asheville to offer help.

I'm Grateful For... 😻

Adopters! I’m so happy to share that Storm and Jean Gray were adopted this month to the most wonderful couple. I raised Storm since he as two-weeks-old and we fostered Jean Gray when she was five-weeks-old. This dynamic duo are now in their forever home—and I’m incredibly grateful to get updates as these two sillies grow up. (I even made a video of their journey from their first days until adoption day!)

Storm (gray cat), Jean Gray (orange cat), and me on adoption day!