January 12, 2025
Hello You,
Are you hanging in there? I know that 2025 has been off to a rough, uncertain, and even devastating start for many. It’s a lot to take, all this not knowing. No matter where you are or what’s going on in your corner of the world, I hope you’re able to find peace when you need it and the strength to keep going. Hopefully this letter will help ease your heart, at least a little.
Renovating Liminal Spaces
Welcome to all the new subscribers who’ve joined The Cure for Longing community over the past few weeks! I’m truly grateful for everyone here, old and new, and I’m so excited for what I’ve got planned for this coming year for this space.
If you follow my author page on Facebook, one thing you may have recently noticed is that I’m in the process of shutting it down. By the end of January the FB page as well as my Threads account will be gone. My decision to do this is partly because I’m trying to simplify my online presence (less time there means more time for my novel-in-progress) but also because of Meta’s announcement that they’ll be eliminating fact checking and moderation on their platforms. While I’m not one to give in to knee-jerk reactions, I do have great concern that tech corporations abandoning responsibility for the their online social media spaces will likely lead to rampant misinformation campaigns from bad actors, as well as unchecked mistreatment of marginalized communities that are already at risk and under threat.
But even if social media spaces have always felt like safe, positive spaces for you, perhaps this is a good time to start to thinking about how dependent (or not) you are on social media for news, connection, and information. With the Canada Post strike over the holidays (support your local postal workers!), I realized how much I’ve come to lean on social media to communicate with family and friends the last few years, and how over time, handwritten notes and cards had turned to emails, then turned to texts, then turned to memes, then to just the occasional digital thumbs up or some other emoji. Oof. Poop. No wonder there’s a loneliness epidemic.
With that in mind, please know that my pledge to you always has been and always will be to do all I can to make this newsletter and community a safe, honest, and welcoming space.
Postcards from the No Exit Café
Towards that goal, I’m introducing something new to the Voice of the Moon monthly for paid subscribers. “Postcards from the No Exit Café” is a monthly writing exercise, meant to keep our minds and hearts going in these uncertain times. Each exercise is short and sweet, and created for ANYONE to try!
Each month I’ll post a writing prompt and instructions for the exercise along with a short example. I’ll also open a new chat thread for each “postcard” so we can discuss our experiences of the exercise and you can share your work if you want. No grades, no fears, no stress— just wild, honest writing from the heart.
The next Voice of the Moon goes out tomorrow (January 13th) so we’ll get started then. If a paid subscription isn’t in the cards for you right now but you really want to participate, please send me a message and let me know. I don’t want to leave anyone out.
The Awe Report
Thanks for all the well wishes sent last week as I prepared for my annual colonoscopy. Aside from one wee polyp which was promptly removed and sent off to be thoroughly tested, I’m all clear for another year! Yeah, the prep is literally a pain in the ass, but wow, science is AMAZING! (And that’s not just the drugs talking.) It may sound funny, but I’m filled with tremendous awe and gratitude whenever I think of the wonders my GI team perform every day for so many people. (PSA, if you’re of a certain age, please talk to your doc about getting checked, especially if you a have any family history of colorectal cancer.)
Closing thoughts
As always, thanks for being here and for reading my words. Until next time, may you find hope and light and magic along your way! Oh, and please remember that it’s OK to take a rest when you need to, just like cheeky sock monkey.
I so enjoyed reading your email, Ami. Thank you. I'm heading into my 90s and am looking forward to 2025. It's difficult to stay positive with all the chaos around us, but I do not want to end my stay on earth in a negative state. I have loved reading your books and hope you overcome your health problems and live long (and prosper LOL).
I am enjoying your emails Ami! It encourages me to write more.
Amazingly, I am feeling hopeful and upbeat, in spite of the dire turmoil in our world. I think, that is partly because of the incredible community of people surrounding me. Today we hosted “Christmas dinner in January” with seven beautiful immigrants from Nigeria, as we had a turkey in the freezer. I think that I received much more than I gave.