Finally, Some Good News
Dear lovely readers,
This week’s love letter comes to you straight from the hospital emergency room in Lisbon where I am awaiting care for a minor infection.
After a month of solo parenting my mini toddler tyrant, Jaad, I was hopeful for a respite when my husband Rodrigo returned from a pilot training.
But this is the year that keeps on giving.
Sitting in the car just before I made my way to the third healthcare facility of the day, in a defeated declaration of frustration, I shouted to/at him and said:
“All I wanted to do today was make some hot chocolate and put up the Christmas decorations to try to bring a little joy to this sh** f*** year!!!”
Yes, I said sh** f***. I’ve been swearing a lot lately.
Man, oh, man what a time it has been.
Every person in my orbit has experienced the weight of this past year in some shape or form. Whether through grief, loss, or disappointments, I feel like we’ve collectively been through the wringer.
After my sudden outburst, I cried, hugged him, and carried on. Because that’s what we do. We carry on.
Even if it has been a long, trying year that has tested our spirits and hopes.
Even if we feel dulled and disappointed by the world.
Even if we’re unsure what the next year will bring.
We carry on because as my dad reminded me in the midst of this very difficult week:
“We have to weaponize hope and courage.”
So in the spirit of those words, I’d like to finally share some good news with you - my treasured readers.
I was recently accepted into a prestigious writing program called Tin House Writers Workshop. Tin House, whose storied walls has bred some of the most talented writers of our time, has always been committed to uplifting the voices of underrepresented writers, and this year was no exception. They have demonstrated a continuous effort to center Palestinian voices, and I am deeply grateful.
Besides writing for you, receiving this news was for the first time in a long while that I felt after many years of quietly, diligently writing - my efforts were finally paying off. I’d like to give a very special thank you to my wondrous writer-mother, friend, and mentor Autumn Ware, who helped guide my artist statement for my application and who is always a source of inspiration to me.
During the program I will be developing the pages for a memoir which I first conceived three years ago, but began writing in earnest this past year. When I initially sat down to write this book, I thought it was a story about love and adventure, but what I quickly discovered is that it’s really about belonging and identity.
I am so delighted that you have had a window into some of the experiences that have inspired and informed my writing, right here.
Again, thank you for being here with me, supporting my writing, and coming along this long, uncertain path with me.
Lastly, another note on books!
I’ve been thinking about starting an international book club for many years, as very few things excite my spirit more than discussing a good story with fellow book lovers and friends.
So, I’d like to invite you to join me for an international virtual book club! If you have any interest at all, would you please take two minutes to answer a few quick questions for me in this form? (If you’d rather just snuggle up on your own with your books and revel in the quiet time, I totally appreciate that too!)
Whether you are secretly harboring wishes to escape the holidays altogether like me, or you are relishing every bit of delight this season may bring for you, I hope that you find joy - and hope - in every way possible in the weeks ahead.
In abiding hope,
Summer
Congratulations beautiful!