What Do YOU have to Celebrate?
How time is speeding by very, very fast and how we must slow down and actually notice the good things happening to us RIGHT NOW and what we have achieved because woah, life feels out of control...
My novel This Terrible Beauty came out exactly five years ago. I can hardly believe it.
Covid was just beginning to gather steam and before long, I’d be spending all day watching endless viral internet mishaps and glued to laugh-out-loud/ weepy memes about anxious people morning-drinking. (If you want a quick laugh, click below.)
Covid was scary — and it also wiped out ALL of my book marketing plans.
When my first novel came out I’d travelled six or seven times from Key West to various conferences and readings in the US. When This Terrible Beauty launched… what did I do?
I had two launch parties. And then, nothing.
But those two launches were amongst the most joyful events of my life.
Celebrate when you can, for any reason
At this moment in my life and also in the context of our deeply challenged nation, I’m finding that I need to remind myself to focus on JOY.
This is such a goofy photo of me but it shows how damn happy I was at my launch. I’d just finished talking to a packed room at Belmont Books, MA and was absolutely floored that so many people had turned up.
Some of you already know the story of This Terrible Beauty… how I worked on it for many years, sent it out to publishers, got rejected by everyone, and stuck it in a drawer. And how, eight years later, I managed to give it life support when I sold The Forgotten Hours and was offered a two book deal… and slyly pitched my “Germany book” to my new publisher…
What do they call those football long shots? A Hail Mary!
A week before my Boston launch, I’d been in Key West with new friends, celebrating at my favorite yoga studio, Shakti Yoga. My parents were there, my three children flew in, all our neighbors dropped by, my new colleague Katie turned up…
For this book, my friends and family really came out in full force — in both Boston and Key West — to celebrate my work. Covid was about to shut it all down but, man, I felt triumphant.
This book that had been such a labor of love, centered on difficult family history, a story that I’d thought was all but lost. It succeeded! In fact, a few weeks ago my brand new neighbor sent me this text he’d just received from a friend:
I’m sharing this because I think we must all seek out joy right now, and one way to do that is by celebrating those moments when we were most joyful… and sometimes that’s when the hard work we have done is recognized by others. When we are seen and appreciated.
When have you been most joyful? Why?
How does it feel to have those good memories flooding through your mind? Good, right?
Dark times call for small pleasures
I’m not going to lie, the book world has not been especially kind to me these last five years. I remember that launch with joy, yes, but also with sadness because I’d like to feel that joy again.
So in the effort to spread some kindness and to rouse your creativity, I implore you to:
eat that piece of chocolate
stop doomscrolling and watch something funny
play with that toddler with the spectacularly filthy face
lead with kindness
go enjoy or make some art!
forgive yourself
find a smell you love and surround yourself with it (this is currently my favorite candle)
take a risk, be bold, say screw them
But most importantly, take a moment to close your eyes and think about all you have achieved and all that has brought you joy. You did it. You and no one else. Don’t forget that.
What am I reading?
I’m so excited to have hired Forrest Gander, Ishion Hutchinson, Charles Baxter, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Cheryl Tan (so far) to teach in Key West next year. I’m currently reading or re-reading their work.
I keep revisiting the memory
of that inward flare of exhilaration
when I knew for sure what counted. But
who is ever content with contentment?
Mojave Ghost, by Forrest Gander
A series I could watch again and again
Paradise on Hulu is not a light hearted show, but damn it is good. I like the way it has viewers asking questions right from the first scene (“where is this?”) and not providing the answers for many episodes.
This is great storytelling: finding a way to keep people guessing (ie. invested) without confusing (ie. annoying) them.
The characters are also mysterious. Why is Xavier so grim? Why is the President, Cal Bradford, getting away with guzzling liquor? Who is Sinatra and what is she up to? What on earth is motivating special agent Jane Driscoll? I wanted to find out why these characters were behaving the way they do, and I was glued to the set until the answers were revealed.
Meanwhile, I don’t think I have it in me to watch Adolescence, despite the Guardian calling it the “closest thing to TV perfection in decades.”
What do YOU have to celebrate?
I’d love to know about one thing you have done that makes you proud, that gives you joy. What did YOU achieve that you can rightly claim and recognize?
Great reminder, Katrin! I've just had a joyful evening with old friends in Key West and the sky at sunset was so beautiful
Katrin, I've been thinking about the same thing lately: how to find more joy amidst the depressing news onslaught that is coming so fast and from so many directions our brains and souls are not able to absorb, let alone handle. For creatives, this challenges our work. Joy is a better state to seek, I think, that the elusive happiness, for joy is more temporary and in the moment, more life-affirming. I write this as I begin my 18 day stay at Ragdale Artist Residency where I have a quiet light-filled writing room with a view. I can feel the creative energy from past artists, read their reflections left behind. I don't want to bring the ugliness of mad men into this creative space. So, I decided to take a news fast while I'm here, something I've never done for very long. I know the chaos will all be waiting for me. For now, the joy is in this beautiful setting, feeling supported, and connecting to kindred spirits.