It’s breakup szn people. I’ve been hearing it on every podcast circuit that graces my ears. And its hit my house hold where two roomies back to back have been hit with the breakup blues :( It’s sad girl vibes for very obvious reasons so maybe just take it as cue to hold off on making any quick decisions rn, starting anything new and look out for your next local broken hearted.
In other news, I just want to create space for people who are sagging rn. It’s not sexy or cute. It’s not instagramable. It’s hard to talk about and it’s pretty hard to ask for help when you don’t know what you need (but ty Eric for always checking in even if you don’t know what to say or do). I see you, I’ve been there/am there and I don’t know how, but this is a promise we are going to get thru it.
-S
Books I wish i read in high school
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion-for better or for worse, I’m hearing more people discuss grief. Grief with a past death. Grief with a current death. Grief with a death they have not yet mourned. Didion discusses the year of mourning after her husband’s death and her attempt to make sense of what happened. Grief is a process best understood when you go through it (unfortunately) but this book comes close to developing compassion for those going thru it.
Read if: grief is a road you want to walk alongside for your friend
Decolonize your mind
The Trouble with White Women: A Counterhistory on Feminism by Kyla Schuller, the title says it all, but everything from Women’s History Month to Equal Pay Day to the 19th Amendment, we have to ask ourselves which women are we talking about and who are we excluding?
Read if: you were taught Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the prototype for a feminist
Not your typical eat pray love
Journey Through Trauma: A Trail Guide to the 5-Phase Cycle of Healing Repeated Trauma by: Gretchen L Schmelzer, no one finds it fun to look at their ishhhhh but it needs to happen especially with trauma. Gretchen Schmelzer gives us a framework of how to move through this in Preparation, Unintegration, Identification, Integration, and Consolidation.
Read if: you know trauma doesn’t heal itself, intentional work with a capital W folks
On Trend
Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd -tbh the only thing really on trend right now is the fact that Pete Davidson is *maybe* dating Kim K and/or that Jayda Pinkett Smith keeps dragging hubby Will or Huma Abedin’s new book or Katie Couric’s book that I don’t get nor want to. So we are skipping that and going to what’s on trend in my world: Mohammed El-Kurd. We hosted him at HLS to discuss his activism in Palestine and how being in the limelight is lonely af because sometimes you just want to make friends in NY in peace. His new book of poetry exploring his late grandmother’s impact on him and his struggle for liberation.
Read if: you know what’s good for you.
Local Book Shop: The Gentle Bookshop is in Berlin, Germany a city we are choosing because my friend Alev is spending the year there and honestly mashallah the life she’s building looks fabulous. This book store curates a selection of books by BIPoC and LGBTQIA+. It was founded by a queer POC from Tokyo, Japan who wanted to ensure that people stop profiting off BIPOC Or LGBTQIA+ narratives when they don’t hold claims to those identities.