I like establishing traditions. Even when something is young, like this newsletter, traditions (or, in publishing terms, “recurring features”) help provide the structure and foundation that makes it easier to ask readers to just trust me — to follow you down the rabbit hole, to read 5000 words about something you had no idea you’d be interested in, to ask yourself hard questions and ask them of others in return.
Building-communities-of-care idea: a friend in her 80s moved into a new co-housing community this year and it has been, no joke, life-changing. This particular iteration is pretty white and well-off, but I know there are all manner of creative co-housing set ups that range from hippie communal living to a cul-de-sac of neighbors who share lawn mowers and cookouts. I'd love to read an AHP essay on it all.
Really grateful for all the work you do to keep reminding all of us that things aren’t just “like this,” that life doesn’t have to be this way, and that there are specific power structures stopping change. There are plenty of models and organizations for finding ways to do things better; they just need to stop being stymied. Bit by bit, work like yours might help chip away at the barriers.
Thanks for being a force for good & a reliable bulwark against demoralization! So often the comments on these newsletters pull me back into a real sense of immediacy and shared experience and belonging - such a powerful counter-narrative to all the fracturing and isolation of the past couple of years.
“The Librarians are not Okay” spread like wildfire through our community. It was definitely what a lot of us have been thinking and feeling. I’ve moved from being a librarian to owning a bookstore in the last few months and the vocational awe is so similar. So many people tell me this is their dream, but I feel like the fantasy of being in a book space is what it is - similar to libraries. I work 7 days a week right now. When I’m not in the store, I’m doing bookkeeping, meeting with accountants and lawyers, making social media content, setting up an online store - it’s a lot! It’s very rewarding and I have no desire to go back to being an academic librarian that also wanted me working 7 days a week of unappreciative labor. But, that vocational awe is still driving me probably too much
just wanted to say thank you AHP for offering the free subscriptions and to the paid subscribers to underwriting them, I'm so grateful I get to be a part of this community even though I couldn't afford to pay for the subscription myself.
I’ve been an unpaid subscriber for a few months. Your writing put words to my feelings. It’s like a secret path to clarity amidst the chaos that is daily life. This themes of 2022 piece resonates on so many levels. My data point “converted.” 🤭
Thank you, thank you for this beautifully written nod to reality in the midst of all the "everything's fine and back to normal." There's been no back to normal for me, and yes, I'm fine, and also definitely not fine. What a year.
I want to engage with the Discord "thing" so much but I cannot seem to get the hang of it whatsoever. Even after reading the how-to's and other resources. It feels like I'm missing something big. Particularly when I see a notification that I've been mentioned- I just do not see it or understand it. Its making me feel incredibly old.
Building-communities-of-care idea: a friend in her 80s moved into a new co-housing community this year and it has been, no joke, life-changing. This particular iteration is pretty white and well-off, but I know there are all manner of creative co-housing set ups that range from hippie communal living to a cul-de-sac of neighbors who share lawn mowers and cookouts. I'd love to read an AHP essay on it all.
Really grateful for all the work you do to keep reminding all of us that things aren’t just “like this,” that life doesn’t have to be this way, and that there are specific power structures stopping change. There are plenty of models and organizations for finding ways to do things better; they just need to stop being stymied. Bit by bit, work like yours might help chip away at the barriers.
Thanks for being a force for good & a reliable bulwark against demoralization! So often the comments on these newsletters pull me back into a real sense of immediacy and shared experience and belonging - such a powerful counter-narrative to all the fracturing and isolation of the past couple of years.
For practical actions, this article in today's Guardian really lifted my spirits! https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/18/power-to-the-people-the-neighbours-turning-their-london-street-into-a-solar-power-station
“The Librarians are not Okay” spread like wildfire through our community. It was definitely what a lot of us have been thinking and feeling. I’ve moved from being a librarian to owning a bookstore in the last few months and the vocational awe is so similar. So many people tell me this is their dream, but I feel like the fantasy of being in a book space is what it is - similar to libraries. I work 7 days a week right now. When I’m not in the store, I’m doing bookkeeping, meeting with accountants and lawyers, making social media content, setting up an online store - it’s a lot! It’s very rewarding and I have no desire to go back to being an academic librarian that also wanted me working 7 days a week of unappreciative labor. But, that vocational awe is still driving me probably too much
just wanted to say thank you AHP for offering the free subscriptions and to the paid subscribers to underwriting them, I'm so grateful I get to be a part of this community even though I couldn't afford to pay for the subscription myself.
I’ve been an unpaid subscriber for a few months. Your writing put words to my feelings. It’s like a secret path to clarity amidst the chaos that is daily life. This themes of 2022 piece resonates on so many levels. My data point “converted.” 🤭
Thank you, thank you for this beautifully written nod to reality in the midst of all the "everything's fine and back to normal." There's been no back to normal for me, and yes, I'm fine, and also definitely not fine. What a year.
Really and truly appreciate your work AHP, yours is one of the few newsletters that stays good and consistent and affirming. Thanks for it all!
Thank you for this piece. And for all the work you do!
Spot on. Thank you!
❤️
Thank you.
I want to engage with the Discord "thing" so much but I cannot seem to get the hang of it whatsoever. Even after reading the how-to's and other resources. It feels like I'm missing something big. Particularly when I see a notification that I've been mentioned- I just do not see it or understand it. Its making me feel incredibly old.
Thank you, for this piece, your work, and how you’ve fostered community.