misery ridge is both! (💫a freebie!)

what to do when you're feeling depleted, a note about our book group, a versatile salad to put on repeat

Smith Rock State Park

hey hey!

We escaped for a week to Bend, Oregon. Along with hiking, biking, and a perfect river for floating, Bend boasts a terrific music venue. We bookended our stay with tickets for Sting and Leon Bridges.

Guess who was seeing Sting and who was seeing Leon Bridges?

In between the concerts, along with the outdoor activities, we fed alpacas!—

And, I, Natalie Serber, took multiple naps. I napped on the couch, I napped poolside. This may not seem monumental to you, but I never allow myself this luxury. It was a combination of a summer cold and the horrible past six months which led me to give in to rest. I dunno about you, but thus far 2025 has not been a joy-bomb. It has been a one-two-three punch of depletion. Along with the atrocious activities coming from the White House, I’ve been dealing with the disastrous and precipitous decline of my recalcitrant mother, and fending off feelings of hopelessness/loneliness. It’s all so taxing and out of my control. Perhaps you too are feeling at sixes and sevens?

What do I recommend:

• Get to a concert of upbeat and moving music. At the Sting concert I looked around at the crowd of smiling, glowing, and grooving people. Everyone was on their feet. Everyone was uplifted.

• Get outside. Yes, Misery Ridge was both! But what a sense of accomplishment and comforting exhaustion I felt at the end!

• Get to a lounge chair or beach towel and close your eyes. Pause, and be fine with it. From Tara Brach’s book, RADICAL ACCEPTANCE:

  In a pause we simply discontinue whatever we are doing—thinking, talking, walking, writing, planning, worrying, eating—and become wholeheartedly present, attentive, and often physically still.

• Get to a library or independent bookstore. Read books (consider the one above) that guide you to new ways of thinking or drop you into another world. (I’ve got a few suggestions below.)

• Get to a farmers’ market and load up on fresh fruits and veggies. (A terrific salad awaits you in the eat section.)

• Get to a telephone. Dial your representatives. Make your voice heard. I promise it will make you feel a little better.

• Gather a few pals around your table! Host a game night. We love Anomia.

• Plug in your ear buds and listen (maybe dance?) to this great tune:

Whatever you do, please be gentle with yourself. I need you here beside me!

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If my newsletter provides a glimmer✨, please share with a friend or three. I’m aiming to top 3k subscribers this summer and I need your help. …so close!

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read:

I keep promising myself I won’t and then I do. I promise I won’t select the next r.w.e. book group book until I’ve first vetted the book. Well, the current selection, HER FIRST AMERICAN, by Lore Segal I thought would be a certain winner because I learned of it online from Ann Patchett and Emma Straub, both of whom I admire! A ringing endorsement, right? Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying the novel. But it’s not a fall-into-it kind of book. It’s funny, the voice, from the POV of a recent Viennese immigrant to the US, is charming and quirky, and it takes more effort than one might want to exert poolside in summer.

There is an amazing multi-paged series of vignettes of a man on a bender in his hotel room. There are very funny internal asides when Ilka, our heroine, imagines herself on trial for minor affronts. As in this moment below when she finds herself in the aforementioned hotel room of her only friend in New York. The man, Carter, vanishes into the bathroom and she worries:

“And it did not occur to you that he might be ill?” Asked the prosecutor of a future court convening inside Ilka’s head.
“I worried about it,” Ilka was going to reply.
Prosecutor: “Did you knock on the door? Did you call to ask him if he needed help?”
Ilka: “One doesn't call a man one hardly knows inside his bathroom.”
Prosecutor: “Did you call down to the desk?”
Ilka: “I kept thinking how embarrassing if he turned out to be all right.”
Prosecutor: “Are you telling this court that you chose to risk a man’s life rather than embarrass yourself?”
Ilka: “Yes.”
The toilet flushed. He was perfectly all right.

And there are heartbreaking truthful moments:

Ilka could tell that [Carter] had forgotten about her, and she saw what she had no business knowing: how a man looks when he is alone with himself in a moment without hope…

Yes, I’m enjoying Segal’s agile writing. And yes, this is not a book that sweeps you away. If you are looking for a summer reading escape, go for THE WEDDING PEOPLE, by Alison Espach. Or, maybe try ATMOSPHERE, by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which is high on my TBR list.

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I’m not certain if I’ve enticed you or frightened you…did you know we have zoom r.w.e. book group? Our June selection is HER FIRST AMERICAN, by Lore Segal, which I discovered as a recommendation from both Emma Straub and Ann Patchett. I’m excited to dive in. We meet on 22 June @ 9:30a PDT.

The book group is a perk for paid subscribers and let me tell you, we are a lively bunch!

Go ahead, upgrade to paid and claim your spot. I hope to get to know you better!

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Visit my read.write.eat. Bookshop Store, where you’ll find many of the books I've recommended in the newsletter. Buying books from my shop is another way you can be a friend to the newsletter. 

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write:

A prompt for you!

The Ache At The Center

Pick something from your past with a sense of risk, something that had the potential to change you. It could have happened just last winter or years, even decades ago. It may be an event that occurred in a single day, or something that occurred over a period of time. It could be heartbreaking or humorous (remember: tragedy + time = comedy).

This is an opportunity for you to open up and explore—through words—something that you might not have had the chance, or the notion, to write about, or something you always wanted to write about but never felt brave enough.

If you feel timid or worried, give the event to a character in your story/novel.

Remember, the only responsibility you have is to the truth of the story. What do I mean by that? Don’t worry about getting it down the exact way it happened, but get it down in a way that reveals the kernel of meaning, the ache at the center which you wish to explore and reveal.

A few phrases to get you thinking:

• knew it was over…

• shouldn’t have taken the dare….

• fell in love with the wrong person

• hardest thing/nicest thing said (to me or by me)

• that song on the radio…

• should have taken the advice (offered to me/or by me)

• lied to everyone, including my therapist…

• wore the wrong thing…

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eat:

First I saw this Happy Fridge Salad in Bon Appetit—which reminded me of Nancy Silverton’s Chopped Salad—which inspired me to invent Natalie’s Happy Chopped Salad. Why happy? Because of the fried cheese, Silly! You’re Welcome!

My salad is a no recipe-recipe which begins with a trip to a farmers’ market. Look for delicious crunchy veggies you enjoy. I bought radishes, carrots, a bag of baby braising greens (which included kale, chard, and arugula), green garlic, and Hakurei salad turnips (so crunchy and sweet!).

Once you’ve rinsed everything, chop into your dream bite-sized chunks and drop them in a large salad bowl. For the greens, I sliced them into ribbons. Keep in mind, once tomato season arrives, cherry tomatoes will be a must!

Next, add some chopped Mama Lil’s Sweet Hot Peppers. I diced up a scant ½ c and added them to the mix. You could also add some chopped walnuts if you like. Now, the part you mustn’t skip. I cubed up some halloumi cheese, large enough to really enjoy, maybe the size of half a thumb! And I fried them in hot olive oil until they were crispy. Resist the temptation to flip them too early. Allow them to sizzle in the hot pan for 4 minutes per side and crunch up! Once finished, set them aside a moment to cool and then add to the salad.

As far as I’m concerned, the salad was perfect. However I am married to a man who cannot go a day without chicken. He marinated some boneless, skinless breasts with a bit of lemon, olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper, then tossed them on the grill. Once done, he let them cool and then cubed the pieces to a size uniform with the cheese.

For the dressing:

• 1 T olive tapenade

• 1 stalk of green garlic, only the white part, diced fine

• ½ c extra-virgin olive oil

• ¼ c fresh citrus juice (lemon, lime, or orange)

• 2 T sherry vinegar

• 1t of honey or agave

• salt and pepper

Mix everything in a small bowl. Taste to correct seasonings. Dress the salad to your heart’s delight.

I think if one chose to (heaven forbid) omit the chicken the salad would be delicious! A serving of grilled salmon on top would be terrific as well.

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Stanley sends love, and here we are, feeling uplifted on a trail.

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Please, remember to tell your people you love them, and take good care of your skin. 

xN