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Note: I drafted this last week while en route and am pleased to report that I’m back home now and everyone involved is in a better situation than they were in a week ago.
I’m writing to you today from the airport while I wait to board a flight to the midwest. My partner and I are navigating the kind of family emergency I’m sure many of you have experienced, one in which no one has died but there are significant changes and many difficult conversations ahead. I’m writing this newsletter today anyway, while I wait for this flight, because work is a welcome distraction and because there’s not really anything I can do until I get where I’m going. And I’m writing it because one of the great gifts of doing the podcast over the last decade-plus is the discovery that there’s room here to talk about so much more than just books.
Since May 2013, y’all have listened to me and Jeff talk about books and publishing, yes, but you’ve also come along as we’ve talked about parenting (him), meditation (me), management (both of us, forever), and a host of other personal experiences. We’ve been through election cycles and a global pandemic together. You’ve trusted us to recommend books for your closest loved ones and your trickiest questions, and you’ve returned the favor with recs for us. You’ve sent us travel tips and dad puns (and you know that dad is a vibe anyone of any gender can embody). You’ve allowed us space to evolve, you’ve taught us all kinds of things, and you’ve held us accountable when we’ve messed up. What began as content has led to real connection and community. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised; after all, what are books for if not the stuff of life?
We’re telling the truth when we say the podcast is our mutual favorite thing to make, and we are always looking for ways to make it more interesting and more fun and to connect with all of you who give us the privilege of being in your ears—and your cars, homes, offices, and dog walks—week after week. Just yesterday, we launched a dedicated Instagram account for the pod, and we sure hope you’ll come hang out with us and share it with your friends. Thanks, as always, for listening.
Catch Up On the Show
National Book Award Finalists, MacArthur Geniuses, and The Corrections Bags Streep
The Fall 2024 Hot List Checkin [bonus]
What Are the 10 Most Interesting Questions in the World of Books and Reading?
Book Club: Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell [bonus]
James Kicks Off Book Awards Season, Taylor Swift’s Book Makes Waves, and TikTok’s First Slate of Titles
Coming up: On tomorrow’s episode, Jeff and I will discuss the publishing data we most wish we had. We’ll run the year’s final round of Deals, Deals, Deals on Patreon next week.
Note: we were planning to see Nickel Boys after its release this weekend for a show next week. That will be delayed, and we’ll give you a heads-up when we know what’s going to be feasible. More time to read or revisit the book in preparation!
The details of our family emergency this week aren’t mine to share, but I do want to leave you with this: if there are conversations you’ve been putting off with your parents, kids, and loved ones—or even with yourself—about how you would want medical care handled if you weren’t capable of making the decisions, please have them before it’s too late.
And if you’ve read books or come across other resources that were helpful for navigating these conversations and decisions, please recommend them in the comments. Let’s help each other show up for the stuff that really counts.
Thanks, as always, for rolling with the BR Pod. We’ll be back in your ears tomorrow.
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Been handling this "style" of family emergency for the last 1.5 years, on-and-off unexpectedly and with multiple family members. Sending love to Rebecca and all other people experiencing this. I don't have answers, just compassion and a listening ear to offer.
I'm an oncology and hospice nurse and I second Being Mortal, it's excellent and engaging and helped inspire and shape my entry into this discipline.
Also, Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End by Jessica Nutik Zitter and That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour by Sunita Puri. Both of those deal with end of life care and decisions, which might not specifically be your situation, but they speak to the kinds of questions and difficult discussions that every family needs to have and that we all should consider ourselves. Everyone always believes they have more time for the conversations than they do, no matter their situation. The time is always now.