Friday Dispatch: Reflections After a Month Away from Substack

Where I've been when I haven't been here

Iced latte, proudly Jewish | Little Zelda, Crown Heights, Brooklyn

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Friday greetings,

Taking the month of July off from Substack gave me space to think about writing here. I find myself experiencing aversion to the platform itself. Though I have no particular desire to write about that aversion or debate AI’s merits and pitfalls, these things are very much on my mind. Suffice it to say, I want as little to do with AI as humanly possible, pun fully intended.

Nine months ago, I walked away from social media platforms after investing many years into cultivating a presence and community there. I am still investing in cultivating presence and community, but my appetite for doing so online has all but evaporated.

With that off my chest, what do I write about? I’m sitting with that question, among others. For now, I’ll do what I always do, and feel my way forward.

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I’ve read (and listened to in some cases) 23 books so far this year. It’s the first time I’ve ever kept track, but I am certain this is a much higher number than, perhaps, ever.

I attribute the marked increase to a combination of reclaiming my time and recovering my attention span.

2026 Book List

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt (so good – we also loved the movie)
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (amazing amazing amazing did I mention amazing)
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (swoon, sigh, sob)
This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman (fabulous, laugh-out-loud funny, relatable)
One Little Goat by Dara Horn (graphic novel, deceptively simple, brilliant)
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (intriguing, thought-provoking)
When You Listen to This Song by Lola Lafon (intellectual yet intimate)
When We See You Again by Rachel Goldberg-Polin (searing, required reading)
Hostage by Eli Shabari (harrowing, somehow still hopeful)
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (life-changing novel)
Heart of a Stranger by Angela Buchdahl (insightful, warm, generous)
Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman (methodical, practical, human)
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (sweeping, vivid)
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (lyrical, philosophical)
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green (quirky, surprising, human)
The Favorites by Layne Fargo (basically like eating a whole bag of Reese’s mini peanut butter cups in one sitting)
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (fascinating, mixed feelings about his portrayals of women)
Landed: A Yogi Memoir by Jennifer Lang (engaging)
Heartwood by Amity Gaige (total page-turner)
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (poignant,
How to Lose Your Mother by Molly Jong-Fast (clear, controlled, honest)
Strangers by Belle Burden (real, deep, evocative, loved it more than I expected)
Whistler by Ann Patchett (tore through it)
James by Percival Everett (genius)
This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared by Alan Lew z”l (rereading in preparation for the High Holidays)

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Have you read any of these? I would love to hear your thoughts.

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I may not have written any newsletters in July, but I did complete a developmental edit for a 64,000-word nonfiction manuscript. I began working with three new clients on poetry-related projects. I led a small, delightful four-week “Taste of 11s” group, and some of those writers are excited to continue in the fall (more on that below). I’m planning an August writing workshop for the Glenmeadow community, where my parents live, and another for a Selichot service, the Saturday night preceding Rosh Hashanah. (How am I writing about September already?)

In addition to new work, for which I am always so grateful, looking through my camera roll from July, I see things AI can’t replicate, imitate, replace, or improve upon. I see a life rooted in physical spaces, indoors and out. I see relationships – with people, animals, nature, books, art, the body. I see a blend of movement and stillness.

I also want to say that especially now that I'm no longer on other social media platforms, your referrals and recommendations make a big difference for my business and livelihood. So thank you!! If you’ve written and/or worked with me and are willing to spread the word in any way and/or offer a short testimonial about your experience, I would be most grateful.

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Here are two of many things I’ve read recently that speak to my strong feelings about (and against) AI.

Neuroscientist Anne-Laure le Cunff explains how circumventing the exploratory phase of seeking answers interferes with processes that result from not knowing. Why does this matter? Because curiosity, memory development, and learning are all so intricately linked that when you take away the first, you seriously mess with the other two.

In We Are Losing Our Ability to Discover What We Didn’t Know to Ask (gift link), le Cunff writes:

“… curiosity puts the entire brain into a mode of heightened receptivity — not just for the specific thing you want to know but also for everything around it. Curiosity opens a window, and while the window is open, learning deepens across the board.”

Dr. Sara Kuburic, a therapist and writer with 1.7 million Instagram followers (!), ties these themes to learning how to manage anxiety through mindfulness practices. In a short, powerful essay, Uncertainty Is Not the Enemy [link], she writes convincingly about why it’s worthwhile to resist the siren song of certainty.

“A friend of mine, Simone Stolzoff, wrote in his book, How to Not Know, ‘Our tolerance for uncertainty is decreasing. Access to limitless information has created the expectation that answers should be readily available.’ We have become entitled, and in that entitlement we’ve lost the art of grappling with existence. And all the benefits, growth, and lessons that come with that process.”

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Speaking of Sirens, I did see The Odyssey on a rainy afternoon. It was an entertaining, if very loud (IMAX - whyyyyy) three hours. Here is a long but excellent review by Emily Wilson, a classics professor who translated The Odyssey into iambic pentameter. I also found this reflection by Flint Del Sol about the role of Sinon, as played by Eliot Page, fascinating.

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And now, some photos:

Eric Carle Museum in Amherst; Violet, a new cafe in South Hadley.

The little book I made at the Eric Carle Museum.
Clockwise from upper left: Happy Kangaroo, Bashful Sheep, Cranky Frog, Wild Wolf

A tucked-away community farm near our house.

A “staycation” solo retreat day - reading, a run and swim, and of course ice cream.

My good friends who love summer.

A Krav Maga class at the JCC in Springfield. A six-month training starting in October? Maybe.

Some beloveds.

My poem in the new Siddur Lev Shalem for Weekdays [purchase here].

Morning rituals. Not pictured: NYT games.

A quick overnight in Brooklyn (all but two books were gone when we walked past after dinner).

My mother’s stones.

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Two Zoom groups begin in September! Come write in community.

EBB and FLOW is a school-year of writing practice, with a three-weeks-on, one-week-off rhythm. Details and registration

THE SOUND OF REAL LIFE HAPPENING is an 11-week group consisting entirely of the practice of writing “11s,” a form I invented that seems to have a bit of magic. Get your spot now! Details and registration

Not sure which group is for you? Schedule a meet & greet call.

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Your Turn

What about you – what were some of your July moments?

What are you reading? What are you writing? What are you noticing? What are you watching? What are you listening to? What are you curious about? What are you learning? What are you letting go of? How are you resting?

Tell me some things!

Shabbat Shalom,

Jena

p.s. I’m contemplating moving to a 2x-a-month or monthly newsletter format here. Your thoughts welcome!

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