how can I help?

seriously, I'm here to solve some problems...

May 21, 2026

AI free zone, button created by Beth Spencer, enhanced by me. Yes, 2 humans!

Bonjour-Bonjour,

In recent weeks our read.write.eat. community has grown! I’m grateful to new subscribers. And, please share my newsletter with abandon!

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Thank you!

I am always excited to share my adoration for a book, a recipe, a writing thought or prompt. And, I know I must earn my spot in your in-box.

I accept the responsibility! Each week, before I write to you, I ask myself what problem can I solve? How can I help?

Throughout my life books have been a balm, a corrective to woes and mistakes. They have connected me to my humanity and offered up a reprieve from loneliness.

Please know, that every book I include today has been meaningful to me. Do click on the red links to read about the books and potentially find yourself in the pages.

Click all the links—go wild—for a story, a poem, a recipe, and the grace and strength of two dancers.

Today I bring you answers.

read:

If you are grieving, read:

HAMNET, by Maggie O’Farrell
”A Small Good Thing,” by Raymond Carver (read here)
A HYMN TO LIFE, by Gisèle Pelicot

…

If you are trying to make sense of midlife, rife with changes like divorce, children leaving home, a changing body, perhaps asking yourself what do I want now?… read:

REAL ESTATE, by Deborah Levy
SHOW DON’T TELL, by Curtis Sittenfeld

…

If you want to laugh, read:

BARK, by Lorrie Moore
ANGEL OF ROME, by Jess Walter

…

If you are trying to figure out how to continue to love someone who has harmed you, harmed themself, someone you worry about, and toward whom you wish to remain tender (even if that person is you)… read:

LOVED AND MISSED, by Susie Boyt
MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING, Viktor Frankl
”To the Woman Crying Uncontrollably in the Next Stall” by Kim Addonizio

Opportunities to engage in the r.w.e. community:

Mentor Book Group— in which we read memoirs, personal growth books and discuss what we might like to adopt in our own “work-in-progress” lives. THE CREATIVE ACT, A WAY OF BEING, by Rick Rubin, will be our May book, meeting on 31 May at 9a pacific time. Love to have you join us.

If you’d like to discuss books with me and a group of smart and lively readers, the r.w.e. book group selection for May is ACCIDENTAL DEVOTIONS, by Kelli Russell Agodon. And, best news of all? Kelli will be joining us! She is a bright light, loads of fizzy-good energy! We meet Sunday, 21 June, at 9a pacific time on zoom. Want to join in? The book group is a perk for paid subscribers. I’d love to get to know you better:

Thank you in advance for sharing your love!

write:

If you feel stuck and stymied by the minutiae of daily life (I feel you!) and want to figure out how to alchemize detritus into art, read:

INDIGO, by Ellen Bass
LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER, by Stuart O’Nan
EXQUISITE PAIN, by Sophie Calle, a gorgeous art installation and a book.

…

If you feel closed off and are trying to become more available to your own creative spirit, read:

CREATIVE ACT, A WAY OF BEING, Rick Rubin
Learn something new. Join a drawing class. Throw pots. Garden. Take up knitting (This pattern is so easy and satisfying).
Watch this and be amazed.
Take a walk in nature. Or, sit and stare at the sea.

There is a reason we are drawn
to gazing at the ocean.
It is said the ocean provides
a closer reflection of who
we are than any mirror.
—Rick Rubin

…

If you need nuts and bolts writing advice and craft lessons, read:

TRUTH IS THE ARROW, MERCY IS THE BOW, by Steve Almond
A LONG GAME, NOTES ON WRITING FICTION, by Elizabeth McCracken

…

If you wish to be inspired by prompts and community, join me:

Drop me a note and I’ll get you signed up!

eat:

If you are bored in the kitchen, read:

ALONE IN THE KITCHEN WITH AN EGGPLANT, ed. by Jenni Ferrari Adler
BEST AMERICAN FOOD AND TRAVEL WRITING, 2024, ed. by Padma Lakshmi

If you want to try new recipes, read and cook from:

LE SUD, by Rebekah Peppler (it’s the opposite of what people used to say about Playboy, not “I read it for the articles,” but “I got this for the photos!”)
VIETNAMESE, Simple Vietnamese Food to Cook at Home, by Uyen Lou
NICOISE, Market-Inspired Cooking from France's Sunniest City, by Rosa Jackson (I had the opportunity to take a class from Rosa! It was chef’s kiss wonderful!)

If you want make a fool proof chicken:

ONE POT CHICKEN WITH CARAMELIZED LEMON AND DATES from Alison Roman is not to be missed.
If you want to make wonderfully delicious chocolate chip cookies (my go to recipe for 30 years):