May I recommend
Dirty Dancing
I am a 46 year old white lady, so this recommendation is extremely on-brand, but man alive, the summer is winding down and Dirty Dancing is a very good summer movie.
As a nerdy, clumsy, self-righteous, frizzy-haired redhead, I DEEPLY identified with Baby’s summertime quest to bang Patrick Swayze and learn the Cha Cha.
If Baby could find love with a hunky dancer who had the grace of a leopard and the ability to wear the hell out of a silken blouson, so could I. While tween Amy was profoundly invested in the love story, (When he sneaks a peek at her changing in the back of the car?? When he utters his iconic “Nobody puts Baby in the corner???”) I was also absorbing some important life lessons that have guided my choices ever since:
White Keds are a timeless fashion basic
Safe and legal abortion is a fundamental right
Be suspicious of people who go to Yale
Sometimes the crooked nose is the best nose
Now, as a 12 year old virgin, it hadn’t occurred to me to worry about my access to abortion when I first popped this movie into the VCR, but by the end credits, the message was received. The entire film is based on Penny’s need to get an abortion and how her low socioeconomic status prevents her from easily accessing even an illegal and dangerous one: Penny doesn’t have the money to pay for it, she can’t get time off to have the procedure and she can’t go to the hospital when everything goes terribly wrong.
So yes, Johnny and Baby’s love story is compelling, the dancing is amazing and the Catskills-resort setting is aspirational, but the thing that makes this movie stick is that it’s a compelling argument for safe, legal and universally accessible abortion.
Dirty Dancing thoughts? Tell me ALL about ‘em in the comments below!
A roundup of unsolved mysteries
Stranger Things: A Reading List of Unsolved Mysteries
Got an hour or two to kill while swinging in the hammock? Here’s an excellent overview of some very interesting unsolved mysteries… The disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 is interesting, sure, but the identical twins one is truly eerie.
For most of their lives together, they refused to speak to anyone but each other — a refusal that led to their emotional exile, their institutionalization, and, eventually, to the misguided appropriation of their story by activists and theorists who used it to pose questions about the nature of identity and the strange birthright that twins are forced to bear.
Got an unsolved mystery? Tell us in the comments below!
Coming to terms with your own mortality (eep!)
An End of Life Doula’s advice on how to make the most of your life.
I’m not gonna lie, this has some heavy thoughts, but it’s interesting.
End-of-life (EOL) doulas are at the opposite end of the life cycle spectrum from birth doulas. They provide non-clinical care (emotional, logistical, and physical) and help with planning; engage with life reviews and legacy work; and provide support for family and friends so caretakers can bring their best, rested selves to support their dying loved one.
Look for luck and there it will be
I endorse this viewpoint — meritocracy is mostly a lie. We got where we are thanks mostly to luck and if we want it, we just need to look for it.
Sure, for free-will buffs, being told that your sole agency lies in looking for luck, which you may or may not find, can be demoralizing. Perhaps that’s why people tell themselves that luck is actually just hard work. We can do something about work—namely, do it.
But work and diligence can never be the parents of luck, because luck has no mother, no father, no precedent or context. Luck is a spontaneous mutation, signaling improbability; it shows up randomly, hangs around according to whim, and—as every gambler knows—makes an Irish goodbye. Mischievous luck is fun, a shamrock, a “lady.” It’s worlds away from grinding toil.
Do you agree? Argue with me in the comments below!
Book news!
Lots of stuff happening!
I’ve spent the summer going to a variety of Zoom and in-person book clubs and have had a ton of fun talking about The Honeybee Emeralds. Drop me a line if you want me to come to yours!
The Foulest Things comes out September 27th and MARK YOUR CALENDARS - the launch will be at Perfect Books, Ottawa on October 4th 6:30 - 8pm. Everyone (but especially you, dear newsletter readers!) is invited.
Before that, I’ll be in Toronto at “Noir in the Bar” a mystery-novel event at the Duke of Kent on Roehampton Avenue. Along with five other novelists, I’ll be reading (and signing and selling) The Foulest Things. Thursday, September 29th.
Here’s the final cover for The Foulest - note my Louise Penny blurb front and centre (so pleased about that).
Trade reviews for Foulest have started to come in and so far people like it. (Phew!)
Library Journal calls The Foulest Things “Intriguing” and a “Fascinating mystery for readers who enjoyed the The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.”
Publishers Weekly called the book “lively” and said that “readers will eagerly look forward to Jess’s further adventures.”
Intrigued? You can pre-order at Amazon (USA) ; at Amazon (Canada) at Indigo at Indiebound or ask your local independent bookstore to get it for you! Note: Amazon says the book will be released in October, but that is WRONG - it’s out in September.
TikTok
Doug Ford swallowing a bee
Isabella is a giant
This poor guy
Swing from the chandelier
Sophia is going to grow up to be Isabella
I am embarrassed to say I only understood this deep into my adulthood
No, no - one thousand times no.
Guillaume Mezzanine, the bush pilot
Those hats
In-utero MRIs
Magic tricks
This is why I don’t trust boats
I found this fascinating and satisfying
More Jolene content
Worm story
There is a LOT of Harry Styles conversation in my house at the moment, and this thing is adorable
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Dirty Dancing + Unsolved Mysteries and Looking for Luck
one of my favorite moments of DD is when Baby's dad takes back the money he was going to give the Bad Boyfriend for medical school after he accidentally revealed he was the one who got Penny pregnant.