[T]here is something so unspeakably thrilling in uncovering the other version of our life that given a few days, a few weeks, a few years, this version will be the only one worth writing ~Andre Aciman

The moment we write into darkness rather than around it & the lanterns we clutch to light our way + Annie Erneaux's "flat writing" + the magic of defamiliarization + the absolute necessity of mistakes

image: Jeannine in Provincetown, circa 1997

Good morning, friends!

I’m happy to share with you this beautiful episode of The Book I Had to Write podcast, hosted by

Paul Zakrzewski

, who writes

The Book I Want to Write

on Substack. The episode dropped yesterday, and in it, I had the pleasure of discussing how to write into the thing that hurts instead of around it, how constraints in narration …