A holiday reading list written entirely by writer parents
Four perspectives on parenting from parents writing on Substack.
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The below post was originally published in December 2023.
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I want to start this newsletter by saying a big end-of-the-year THANK YOU to everyone who has supported this little project from its inception in May. The time I’ve been able to dedicate to this newsletter as the booking agent/copywriter/podcast host/audio engineer/managing editor has ebbed and flowed throughout the summer and fall, but the trajectory of our subscribers and engagement has continued to rise steadily upward, and it warms my heart to see more than 60% of you, on average, opening each and every post.
We’ve got some big plans for new formats and more frequent releases in 2024, which I’m excited to share after the New Year.
In the meantime, I wanted to do something a little bit different and close the book on 2023 by highlighting four of my favorite pieces of parent writing that I’ve uncovered while becoming more active on Substack over the past few months.
Celebrating the written word
One of the things that I enjoy about this platform is the way it has given people who may not have seen themselves as writers a place to publish really diverse and varied perspectives on what their particular version of being a human looks like. Honestly I can’t remember any time with such a proliferation of grassroots writing since blogs first blew up in the 2000s.
I don’t read every post from every newsletter I subscribe to, because there are like 40 of them now and unfortunately I also have other things to do every day. But lately I feel I’ve been given an opportunity to better understand the daily lived experience of many different types of people living different types of lives that I might not have thought much about otherwise. This is literally one of the reasons we have art.
As the curator of my own newsletter focused on parenting, much of the content I consume these days feels like a carousel of hot takes on the day-to-day experience of life with small kids. And I love it! It’s brought me a ton of inspiration and perspective to read about the ways that other people on the internet are navigating this crazy period in our lives — while also somehow finding the time to write about it.
So as a thank you to those other brave warrior writer parents, and a shoutout to their experience of staying creatively active while having young kids, below are four short parent essays that have spoken to me, made me think, or made me laugh in recent weeks.
You’ll be hearing more from a couple of these authors over the coming months. In the meantime, please enjoy their perspectives on some of the defining characteristics of the parent condition:
1. On trying to develop your career while having childcare responsibilities (John Vogel)
I read this article at a time I really needed to read it, when I was starting to despair from endless days of trying to squeeze as much work as possible into my daily 2 hour window at the café while my son was going through Eingewöhnung (daycare adaptation, for those not based in Germany). What I loved most about it was how well John describes the particular challenge of suddenly snapping your working brain on and off in those windows when you do get a chance to focus and need to make the most of it.
2. On the mental exhaustion of so many little decisions (Mimi from Mom Stuff)
The title of this one hooked me - because I’m pretty sure it’s right up there! Among the many things about parenting that there’s no way to understand or really prepare for until you’re in it, the mental burnout of near-constant strategic planning is right up there. In this essay, Mimi describes her journey through waking up with a sick kid, and all of the little micro-decisions that follow, each with its own special blend of cascading implications. No wonder our brains are full.
3. On coming up with new and ever more creative combinations of food for our kids, and ourselves (Jen Sherman from Shitty Housewife Gets Nerdy)
Since 2019 Jen Sherman has (amazingly) been keeping a spreadsheet tracking every cent that her family of four spends on food, and writing about it in a holiday newsletter each year. She now writes more regularly about various other food-related aspects of life with small kids, pretty much all of which are highly relatable. As a guy who just yesterday ate a bowl of fried rice, plain roasted eggplant, spicy Turkish lima beans, plain arugula, and avocado drizzled in sesame oil for lunch (wt actual f though), I really appreciated Jen for giving a name to one of my most relied upon meal planning strategies.
4. On the emotional highs and lows of taking two kids out in public by yourself (Lucy Huber/guest post for Parenting is a Joke)
This one is for all the other parents of multiples out there (or anyone who wants to understand what it’s like!). One of the most amazing things about reading a great piece of writing are those special aha moments you get when the writer articulates something you’ve been feeling but haven’t been able to express, and then they express it and for a brief moment you feel you understand the world a little bit better. That’s how I felt when I read this guest piece by McSweeney’s editor Lucy Huber, who describes her first two experiences taking both of her children out to the store alone. In particular, I love the way she writes about the raw emotional experience: the fear of doing it for the first time, the newly earned confidence when it’s easier than you expect, the utter despair when it isn’t, and the mental strain from all the high stakes decision-making involved in managing a baby and a 3 year-old in a public place by yourself.
And that’s all for 2023!
If you’re going to leave one comment on this post, please tell us about your favorite fusion abomination meal you’ve had recently.
Whatever holiday you’re celebrating (or not celebrating) we wish you and your family a wonderful end of the year and start to 2024.
We’ll see you there :-)
Such beautiful perspectives!
This is so great, thanks for shouting out Lucy Huber and Parenting is a Joke! I love these other pieces and perspectives! We all need to feel not alone, and laugh a little! happy holidays parents.