I’ve just turned 50 and I’m slowing down. What’s interesting about this is that my slowing down isn’t happening because I’m aging. That part is pretty easy, actually. I just wake up every day and voila! I’m older. But the slowing down – that’s new. And while it’s connected to…
Author: Q.
Blog
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Blog 4.15.24
I’m starting another one of my social media sabbaticals today. This time I’ll be “offline” for six weeks. Once again, I feel a profound sense of relief to be able to step away, and I wonder how much longer I can maintain a personal presence on these platforms. The whole…
Books
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Q Review | Crocodile Soup | Julia Darling
The Q Review features short reviews of books, movies and music. When buying used books at a thrift store there’s very little chance of finding the exact titles on my ‘to read’ list; but for as little as $1.99 I can pick up five random volumes for around ten dollars,…
Mental Health
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A Crisis at Midlife
Whatever your occupation, there’s a long line of younger, hotter, better educated and way more hip and hungry folks who have been fast-tracked on a 30-under-30 list to kick your ass out of the limelight. Deal with it. Or don’t. Society doesn’t give a shit. At midlife you’re simultaneously encouraged to pretend aging isn’t happening, while being penalized for not being able to stop it from happening.
Mental Health
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What a Long, Strange Trip it’s Been
Turning fifty feels so monumental that I’ve put pressure on myself to come up with something profound to say about it. I suppose a list of life lessons would be apt. Or maybe a retrospective that sums up the totality of half a century with some pithy one-liners wrapped in a witty little bow. Neither of those things appeal to me right now, though.
Poetry
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[POEM] 1.19.24
Learning to love myself Is an act of reason. And now, I shall finally Live. Disentangled From my oppressor; Gloriously perfect In my imperfection. Heart open like a violet rose In a passionate kiss with a Midday pause. The only sound, A fat bumblebee In a drunken ecstasy. I sit…
Creativity
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On Building (and sustaining) Creative Momentum
I spent the month of December offline (a practice that always gives me room to think and grow) during which time it occurred to me that the missing ingredient for my creative success is momentum.
Feminism
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On Motherhood
The choice to become a mother is a sacred, inalienable right that every person capable of bearing a child deserves to exercise when, where, and how is best for them and the child.
Fiction
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The 15 Best Books I Read in 2023
My friend and fellow word nerd Sarah Orman likes to do an annual roundup of the books she reads, so I told her I’d try to take a stab at it this year myself. But first, a short story about rediscovering reading:
Humor
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The 2023 Festivus Airing of the Grievances
FESTIVUS MUBARAK, MOTHERFUCKERS.
It’s time once again for the Airing of the Grievances. In the immortal words of Mr. Costanza, “I got a lot of problems with you people, and now you’re gonna hear about it.”
This year tried to kill me. But guess what bitches? I’M STILL ALIVE AND KICKING AND IT’S TIME TO UNLOAD THAT WHICH OPPRESSES MY SPIRIT. So grab some cocoa or whatever shit you like to drink and buckle up. I’m not even trying to be nice right now.