School's Out For Summer!

a brief hiatus and a preview of Fall work

Photo by stephan cassara on Unsplash

Hello Dear Readers,

I am acutely and painfully aware that you have not heard from me in a month (!) now. The transition from the school year to summer has gotten the better of me, and I am up to my ears in projects, kids jetting off on exciting adventures, and getting my first novel out into the world to find an agent. If any of you has done this last bit, you know it is indeed like fledging a child all by itself. (Actually, I think it’s more exactly like enduring the unique uncertainty of IVF, with which I am very familiar. There might be a forthcoming story there.)

I have decided that I need to devote much more time than I am to all of these efforts, and will be taking a summer hiatus from BOYD. I will continue to work on the story ideas I already have that have been pushed further and further down my list. My hope is to come back in September with a small arsenal of content to publish more frequently.

Here is a short list of stories I’m working on:

• The Future of Work: Human Choice in a Capitalist Playbook

• Our Longevity Obsession and the Dignity of Death (including an interview with death doula, Laura Lee)

• The Relative Value of Citizenship in 2025

• The Modern Practicality of Cathedral Thinking

I am excited about all of these! And, because this is my neurodiverse brain, I reserve the right to be completely sidetracked by additional topics that pique my interest. It is an absolute certainty. It will be a fun summer in my head!

Administrative fine print:

All subscriptions will be paused for the remainder of June, July, and August. If you pay monthly, you will not be charged. If you pay annually or are a founder, your subscription will be pushed out by the number of months I am away.

You can message me directly with any questions, or ideas for stories you’d like me to noodle. Just go to the BOYD homepage from inside the Substack app or in your browser (not the email) and click the Chat balloon in the upper right. Click Direct and your message will go straight to me.

Thanks for all the ongoing support! I really appreciate it.

And, as always, may all of your ideas live a full and useful life, or meet their just end.

Happy Summer!

-IWW