The Dig List: August 2024 (Birthday Edition)

I turn 47 this week and my face is different but I'm finally reading again.

Hello! I have a few upcoming events at the bottom of this newsletter, so scroll to the end.

Well, here we are approaching the end of August. I’m never sad to see summer go, honestly. I like the spirit of the summer, but I’m just not made for the heat, and this summer was hot as balls. Why is that even a saying? I shouldn’t love it, but I do—sorry.

Starting last year, I noticed I looked exhausted every morning, no matter how much I slept. Like hungover-tired. Tired-tired. Puffy face, bags under my eyes, crackly-feeling skin, sheet marks carved deep into my cheeks and forehead. I started using my daughter’s marble rolly thing on my face, buying under-eye cream, and thinking about what I ate at night specifically to avoid extra face swelling.

Enough time has passed that I’ve realized: oh, this is just my face now. The bags under my eyes are just…there. My skin is different. My profile is different. My face has a different shape altogether. I hate it. Please don’t tell me not to hate it, ok? Please don’t. It’s one of many things that are changing very quickly and I feel out of control and sad about it. I’m sure I’ll get to the place of accepting the whole thing *waves my hands around in the direction of everything* but I’m not there today. I’m turning forty-seven on Friday and this is the first birthday I haven’t felt like getting older is the best thing ever.

Even so, beautiful things are all around. My daughter is entering her sophomore year and this week she’s got soccer tryouts, so all my energy is being spent holding the center of our little unit no matter the outcome. I love that I can do this.

The temps have lowered. Today even feels a bit fall-ish. I have a sweatshirt on! GOD BLESS!

My friends and I really got into pickleball this summer and it’s been so much fun I can’t even believe it.

I somehow found a therapist right before my relationship ended, and we’ve met every Tuesday morning since February, more or less. We do EMDR most sessions and it’s trippy and hard and has been so helpful.

There’s more, and I’ll probably write another newsletter this week because it’s my birthday week and I’ve got things to say! We’ll see. Either way, let’s get into the list…xo

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What’s The Dig List?

Sharing stuff I love is my favorite thing, so instead of trying to squeeze recommendations into the other newsletters, I started a series called The Dig List. It’s a monthly roundup of things I’m digging: books, podcasts, music, cultural moments, art, products. Nothing I share is sponsored. Read past ones here.

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The Dig List: August 2024

Books

I went off about Liars by Sarah Manguso a couple of weeks ago. So many of you here and on Instagram read it and similarly freaked out. Here’s what I wrote: I haven’t been this impacted by a book since Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I won’t be the same writer after reading it, or the same woman, or the same ex-wife, or the same ex-fiancé, or the same mother, or the same anything. Absolutely stunning. Sarah Manguso explained experiences that only lived wordlessly in my body until I read this. What a work of art.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach - I really loved this. It’s intelligent, fun, escapist but not fluffy at all. It hit the mark perfectly for a late-summer read.

Next up: Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors (coming Sept. 3)

Shows

It’s been a dead month for shows (minus the Olympics!), but we’ve got some great TV coming this fall and winter. Please drop any recs in the comments—I need them!

Shrinking is coming back for another season! Ep. 1 of Season 2 drops on October 16 on AppleTV, and, yes, Harrison Ford is returning!

It’s still a way out, but Severance, Season 2 drops in January.

Oh, and can you believe it’s been 20 years since that POS Scott Peterson was convicted of killing his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn baby? The new documentary “American Murder” on Netflix brought forward some details I didn’t remember and includes interviews with Laci’s mom, Sharon Rocha.

Music

Although I haven’t read much this spring and summer, music has been everything. I created a playlist to capture the mood for us. 🎵

TL/DR: It’s Chappell Roan’s world now, and I’m so happy to be here.

Links and Other Stuff

The Olympics brought so much joy, but this moment between Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall may be my favorite. It’s this or nothing for me, folks.

The research keeps rolling in that alcohol is junk in any quantity.

This is random, but I got this bamboo bed desk thingy from Amazon, and it’s a game-changer. No more delicately balancing hot coffee beside my leg as the cats vy for attention.

I also got one of these Spacies desk pads for my desk, and I LOVE IT. Total upgrade to my desk life. Thank you

SPACIES

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Upcoming Events

• NEXT Weds. 8/28 at 1 pm ET: “Teens and Their Phones…HELP!” A live Zoom conversation with Devorah Heitner. This conversation is for paid subscribers only. Registration info is below behind the paywall.

• Weds. 9/25: THRESHOLD with Elena Brower and Kemi Nekpavil in Boston, MA. This event is sold out, but you can join the waitlist.

• 10/17: An Evening with Laura Cathcart-Robbins and Laura McKowen in Boston, MA. Join me and Laura, author of Stash, for a conversation and book signing at Hummingbird Books in Chestnut Hill. The event is free, but you have to register.

• 10/18-10/20: Push Off from Here retreat at Kripalu in Stockbridge, MA. This retreat is sold out, but you can add yourself to the waitlist. Also, stay tuned for a digital pass option.