A very fun part of writing a book is the acknowledgements page, or the “Acks” as they are known in the biz, apparently, and if there is a more delightful abbreviation, I would like to hear it. While writing mine, I checked out acks by other authors, just to see how they pulled them off. Did they also thank their cats? Did they just do a dignified paragraph or take up a page or three?
I managed to cull mine down to a reasonable page and a quarter, though now that I think about it, I’m sure there are people I forgot, so if you are reading this and feel snubbed because I remembered a pasta recipe and forgot your all-important help and guidance, I am very very sorry.
So other than friends, here are some more details about the things that fell under the “helpful and therapeutic” category that I listed out:
750words.com
Basically the premise is that you write 750 words and get a little green square. That’s it! But it’s an achievable goal, and it did get me to write every day and established the habit well enough so that if I miss a day or two, it’s no big deal. But it’s important to write every day, if only because if I don’t write things down, I forget pretty much everything. It’s very satisfying to go to a random entry from a few years ago and think, “Oh yeah, that happened.”
World’s Greatest Cats, Dennis and Emerson
I married into these cats. My husband had them since they were kittens, and although I always liked certain cats just fine, I didn’t really become a bona fide cat person until I met these guys, or as I like to call them, “booshie boo boo boos oh whose is the booshie boo Dennis is the booshie boo oh yes he IS” etc. Don’t ask me why! It just sort of stuck! I’m one of those people who talks to their pets like an idiot and it has only gotten worse over time!
Coach Bennett of the Nike Running App
I have been a devoted mental health runner ever since my mid-twenties, meaning that I’ve never once entered a race, but still dutifully throw down about 10-15 miles each a week, because running somehow keeps me sane, and you don’t have to do it long or fast to get health benefits. Coach Bennett of the Nike Running App has a guided run series that I absolutely love and embodies this, “just go for a run as often as you can, doesn’t matter how far or how fast or for how much time, it’s still good for you and you should take a moment to feel proud of that!” ethos.
A Nightly Episode of Crazy Ex Girlfriend
I am one of those assholes who just can’t with most romantic comedies1 so I didn’t even register CXG until I was at the Jewish Museum in New York, of all places, and stumbled upon a clip of Remember That We Suffered and from then on I was immediately sucked into a CXG music video rabbit hole.
Oregon Trail Remake
So the remake of Oregon Trial on Apple Arcade isn’t a fun game, exactly. Or it least it stops being fun once you make it to Oregon. But whether it was the surprisingly poignant music, or the gorgeous graphics, or plain ol’ nostalgia for the olden days of computer games I grew up with, I found it very soothing, even as I wailed to my husband that, “I have a book deadline! I don’t have time to get addicted to a fucking video game!” And not even a COOL video game! I justified it by figuring that when it comes to mindless time-sucks, it was probably better for my mental health than Twitter.
Smitten Kitchen's Vodka Sauce Pasta Recipe
Comfort food at its finest. It’s also what you will be getting at our house if you ever come over for dinner.
When Harry Met Sally is a obviously a classic, and I still think Kissing Jessica Stein is adorable.