I'm gonna report this every month.

1/4: I got my start in public media. I still remember when the Rodney King verdict came down my first year at KZSC. We had a remarkably good public affairs department.

I feel both joyful & terrified: My book is actually on the @eccobooks.bsky.social @harpercollins.bsky.social website now! IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH: Love Stories from the Frontlines of America’s Caregiving Crisis will be out Feb 2026 ✨ eeeeek! www.harpercollins.com/products/in-...

I think I just coined the phrase "tyrannical lifestyle maintenance," and I'm very proud.

Also, Medicaid isn't just poor-people health insurance. It's the main payer for long-term care. Middle-class people can't afford nursing homes either at ~125k/yr. The typical outcome is that they "pay down" (go broke paying for care) to become eligible for Medicaid.

Made up a little song for myself today: "You are feeling insecure... Because that's a natural part... Of the process!" #AmWriting #EditingKillsEgo #GuideToOpenWaterLifesaving

Why is caregiving so hard in America? Excited to see this new film... "Caregivers are on their own--and...spend an average of $7,242 out of pocket ea yr. According to a recent DoL report, they also miss out on an av of $43,500 in income due to the demands of adult care." www.npr.org/2025/06/20/n...

There are going to be Andrew Solomon-level endnotes on this book. Which is crazy, because it's a freaking #memoir.

Holy crap this essay is amazing. @nickolebrown.bsky.social ! THANK YOU! orionmagazine.org/article/one-...

A quote that's resonating with me today from the manuscript of A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: "Care is both the hardest and the best thing we do as human beings. We should find better ways to share and support it, because it is difficult and because it is beautiful."

Was hitting the point of diminishing returns enforcing desk discipline for these edits, so grabbed a camp site, took a paddle, swam in the river, slept under the stars. Then a hike and breakfast this morning and I'm back to the desk. Gas $30, campsite $18, food $20. 24 hours and $70 for the win.

I love the two weeks of voluptuous abundance when the roses and peonies first bloom. I can't keep up with the deadheading, and I'm always having to clean up the petals from the five or six arrangements I've got going in the house. And then, like smoke, they are gone 'til next year.

Closing in...

Read this OpEd from two of the finest people I know, @kevindeliban.bsky.social and Trevor Hawkins, who remind us that Arkansas was living today's national politics ten years ago, with deadly impacts. Also that the people of Arkansas fought back, and won.

Edit a chapter, plant some seeds. Repeat. Trying to remember that after all this quiet, patient work of cultivation comes harvest.

Have been hiding, working on healing, finishing TWO manuscripts (both out in 2026!), and loving up my platform camper. Slowly emerging from the cave.