I'll be honest. I've had an emotionally devastating week, and I considered not sending out my newsletter. But compiling Joy Ride brings me happiness and I could use every ounce of it.
Today's newsletter theme is HELP. Local Pasadena Vroman's Bookstore—like many indie bookstores—is facing an impending closure if they don't make it through the holidays. Here's how I'm going to help them: The first 3 newsletter readers who respond with, "I want a Vroman's gift card," will each get a $25 gift card emailed to them. Winners will be notified via email on Monday, Oct. 5.
Your Pep Talk 🆘
I am the queen of "doing it myself." Help is a four-letter word. Until I had kids and a deadline and my husband was sick. A friend saw me struggling and took one healthy twin to her house. Until I saw a friend ask for help when her 40-year-old husband was diagnosed with brain cancer. We leapt to help and it gave me hope to see how her friends came together.
Everyone is overloaded right now. It's easy to tell yourself, "I can do it myself." I get it.
But you don't have to do this alone. Ask for what you need. I recently asked people to help me rehearse for a big interview and they graciously gave me their time. (Thank you Lydia, Charity, and David.)
We are here to support each other, even when the world feels fractured and divided.
My Latest News 📝
I got 4 magazine and book editor rejections this week. I share this to normalize rejection. Once I accepted that rejection is part of my writing life, it stung a lot less. It’s never fun, but it’s not the end.
Check Out This...
ARTICLE: When I saw Lizzo gracing the cover of October Vogue with a profile written by Claudia Rankine, I devoured it. A must-read: "Lizzo on Hope, Justice, and the Election."
TV SHOW: Schitt's Creek. I admit that I slept on this hilarious, brilliantly written Emmy-winning show. Brendan and I are almost done with season 1 and I love it so very much. Catherine O'Hara is a treasure.
TED TALK: I would like Shonda Rhimes to give me a pep talk. I’ll settle for listening to her fantastic talk on "My year of saying yes to everything."
NONPROFIT: Donate gently used bras and new menstrual products to I Support the Girls, which gives these much-needed goods to homeless and domestic violence shelters. Since March 2020, the small org has donated more than 2 million products.
I'm Grateful For...
Difficult conversations. I'm listening to the audiobook version of Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes, and she said this quote. I wrote it down and stuck it to my nightstand.