odds & ends

mysticism, the swiftiverse, grief, my cute dog

Hello friends and happy summer to ya. In lieu of any serious writing, I have a smorgasbord of other things for you today. (Actually, can we start saying charcuterie board instead of smorgasbord? I think we can all agree the former is more tantalizing, partly because we all love cheese and partly because does anyone know what a smorgasbord even is*?)

my son got this glamorous shot of Thunder and me typing this up for you

1. First to bat is this interview with Publisher’s Weekly about my upcoming book, The Mystics Would Like a Word. It was lovely to chat with PW’s Cathy Grossman over a Zoom call, and I was pleased with how the interview turned out. Did I celebrate my accidentally buying this t-shirt? Maybe.

2. I’ll let that be my lead-in to remind you that you can preorder your copy of the book now and be among the first to receive it upon it’s release on Sept. 10. Maybe you’ll feel like Sarah Bessey, who read and early copy and said it’s “the feminist reading of female mystics I’ve wanted for ages”!

3. Podcast lovers and/or Swifties, you won’t want to miss my recent convo with the ladies of TheraSwifts, a podcast by two therapists who explore the cultural phenomenon of Taylor Swift-induced healing. We talk about trauma, female rage, and the power of the communal experience.

4. If you are grieving, I can promise you will get something out of this FREE 4-day online event led by one of my inspirations and (she says I can call her this but it still feels wrong) friend, Mirabai Starr, who dispels the false notion that you are meant to “move on” from your loss and instead affirms that grief is a lifelong journey. “Unraveling the Myths of Grief” will help you trust your own process and find the courage to reenter life with grief as a companion rather than adversary.

5. Last but not least, random but not regrettably: you need to know about Kaleah Lee. Holy moly, she’s a songwriter. Stream her EP, follow her on TikTok/IG/YouTube, just generally look out for her because she’s gonna be fire.

With love and gratitude,

Shannon

*Wikipedia. Wikipedia knows what a smorgasbord is. And come to find out it is basically a bigger version of a charcuterie board so look who’s eating her words now.