Maremma, Italy, what a dream.
Hello readers! We’re deep in the dog days of summer, and I hope you’re getting through whatever insane weather pattern is coming (or has come) your way. Here are a few things to read, eat, listen to, and dream about as August winds down.
Fine Reads (from around the internet)
The Ones We Sent Away: Jennifer Senior on her aunt, sent to live in institutions because of her disability, in The Atlantic.
Welcome to Europe, Where Mass Death Has Become Normal, by Sally Hayden in the New York Times.
The Instagram Account That Shattered a California High School, by Dashka Slater in the New York Times Magazine.
Fine Reads (that you might have missed from me):
I Was Wrong About Trigger Warnings (The Atlantic)
Abortion Bans Force Child Rape Victims into Motherhood (Substack)
The Truth About True Crime (Substack)
What to Make of the New Right Racists (Substack)
On Trauma and Triggers (Substack)
American Women Have an Alcohol Problem. It’s Crucial to Understand Why. (CNN)
Michael Oher’s Lawsuit Against His ‘Blindside’ Family Raises Urgent Questions (CNN)
Fine Foods
This smashed cucumber, shrimp, and avocado salad is super easy and super good. My strategy: Make it over two days, and incorporate it into two meals. Double the cucumber, prepare them as written, and dress them with the recipe dressing + a little rice wine vinegar. Eat half of them as a side dish, and put the other half in the fridge. The next day, add all the other stuff and have the full salad for dinner.
I eat a lot of fish, and because it’s summer I tend to grill a lot of fish, but I am getting bored and so tonight I’m making this Thai salmon curry. If there is one crucial ingredient here, it’s the curry paste. If you don’t make yours from scratch — I do not make mine from scratch — try to get your hands on some Mae Ploy. You can literally get it on Amazon, don’t suffer through mediocre at-home curry.
Fine Goods
I travel a decent amount for work and play, and excellent travel bags are a must. I have a fancy lightweight roller bag that I am obsessed with and take everywhere, but earlier this summer I also bought this duffel from Patagonia to supplement on longer trips. It comes in many sizes — I bought the 40 liter, which is the smallest — and it’s not exactly chic, but holy lord this bag fits so much. It’s like a magic clown car of bags, plus it’s super light but also somehow very sturdy, and everything is exactly where and how it should be. I love it, and will now bring it with me everywhere.
My other “I cannot live without this” recommendation is for skincare: Sunday Riley’s Good Genes lactic acid treatment. I put this on my face at night (just twice a week) and wake up smooth and glowing. I have pretty sensitive skin, and this doesn’t irritate it (I also slather a good moisturizer on over it). It’s one of those immediate-results products that is very very gratifying. A girlfriend recommended it to me, I have recommended it to many girlfriends, and now I recommend it for you.
Fine Tunes
I’ve really been enjoying the Infamous episodes about the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial. And if you’re in a true crime done well kinda mood, Stephenville by Texas Monthly is excellent.
Fine Tuning
I’m teaching a series of writing + yoga retreats in the coming months (no writing or yoga experience necessary, and you are more than welcome to skip the yoga classes). All the details are here.
I’m also offering a $700 discount on the South Africa retreat(!). We had one person drop out and I’d really love to fill her spot, and the retreat is coming up soon. So if you’re the kind of adventurer who wants to travel around South Africa this October, drink some wine with a group of very cool women, go on an epic safari at a private conservancy, learn photography from a National Geographic photojournalist, take writing courses from me, and generally do fun stuff in beautiful places, you should join us.
Retreats are also coming up at a woman-owned organic farm in Maremma, Italy (an off-the-beaten-path part of Tuscany) in September, in Kenya in March, and in Morocco in June. Fall retreats 2024 are TBD, but stay tuned (and let me know where you want to retreat).
That’s it for now. Hope to see you back here, or somewhere in the world, very soon.
xx Jill
I've literally been waiting for this post in the hopes that you'd recommend something for skincare. You recommended something (maybe a moisturizer?) awhile back that I was interested in, but I could never find the post again to order it. I immediately bought the lactic acid treatment 😄 thanks for the recommendation!