The Importance of Supporting Characters

I know how my life seems on the outside. A published book. A good agent. Some press. I know because I’ve looked at many of my colleagues, through the lens of social media, with similar achievements and accolades and thought they had everything. They were doing so well. And I’ve looked at friends outside my […]

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The Case for Imperfect Emails

Two months ago I stopped writing this newsletter the same way I stop or start most things in my life. In a rage. In a flurry. In a moment. I was sitting at the kitchen island, the lights above the counter aggressive and loud, as I stared with crazed eyes at words on a screen. […]

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What Does Publishing a Book Actually Feel Like?

I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now. So many of my friends and family uttered this phrase to me sometime throughout the day on December 8, 2020. How does it feel? The question poured in, over and over again. It’s a question I, myself, wanted to know for years. How does it feel to […]

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GRIT: The Answer To Success In Hard Times

The other day, a memory popped into my mind. I was twelve and in the car on the way to tennis camp. Always a shy kid, when I arrived, my throat dropped into my chest when I noted all the kids huddled outside the courts. It was not so much the presence of the kids […]

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The Secret of Creating Good Luck

If you don’t mind, I’d like to tell you a story about my friend Grace.  Five years ago Grace moved  from Connecticut to New York hoping to restart her life. High school had been rough for her. She had a back brace from scoliosis and social anxiety. On top of her genetic bad luck, her […]

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What Bad Houseguests Taught Me About Expectations

A few days ago something strange happened. I guess it all started when Tom and Jane came to visit. The couple, whom Jay and I have known for a few years, were our first visitors to Philly. Two days before their arrival we’d bought fresh flowers, organic groceries, new guest towels. We were, all clichés […]

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How A Book Review Taught Me To Take Risks

I am writing this in bed right now. Two hours ago I got back from a beach holiday. My first vacation in over a year. And while I expected to come home relaxed and refreshed, I find myself unable to sit still, relax, calm down. I can’t focus, read, meditate, because, well, I’m too excited. […]

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