I’m spending my Sunday in bed, reading all of your gorgeous comments and fabulous recommendations. This community astounds me again and again. I love you all! ❤️
If you haven't read it already, Writers and Lovers by Lily King, plus something you should already have in what I expect is a voluminous, jam-packed mail bag. I, too, am forever and always on team Suleika.
My favorite "cozy" read is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. You are in my prayers. Jeanne, Pugwash Nova Scotia
I also have had to have a continued relationship with a blood cancer. There have been times I did not know if when I went in for a check-up for treatment or a ER run during treatment whether I would be admitted. I would bring my favorite cotton throw blanket that I could wrap around my shoulders or rest my head on. It gave me a sense of home and the natural world since hospitals have so much plastic including the beds. That was the first thing that I grabbed. Also, my journal which over the years I have filled with inspiring thoughts and poems written by others like myself but also by the sages of the world. They supported me emotionally during my stays unknown trips. I brought really good headphones that I could listen to gentle music or podcasts when I felt the worst. I’ve told my family that if I have a long stay again I would like to bring in one of our small paintings so I could gaze at it and day dream through it. These are my essentials along with pens and paper and chargers and comfortable clothes. I have been reading a small little book called The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey along with a page at a time of The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh. We do not know each other but I can only say your writings have touched my heart. I am so sorry you have been on this difficult journey. I will be sending you much love next week and as you heal.
Not a book recommendation, but a suggestion to shift the mood of self & flourescent lighting: light or medium plum-tinted Cocoons. They provide a much cozier outlook in a hospital setting. I can’t recommend them enough. Thank you for including us in part of your journey. Will be thinking of you.
Thank you for this excellent, excellent prompt (and for sharing your response!). I had two specific reactions. First, Joan Didion's list ends with her house key and in her writing she describes the author of that list as someone who values the combination of control, momentum, and a fully-embodied narrative. The house key immediately made me think of one of my personal principles of travel, that one of the best reasons to leave is so that you can come home again. I like to wonder if Joan knew that living in pursuit of the world was possible for her because she had an anchor - a home, and it's key. Second, reading the various lists that have been shared here, I find it wonderful that so many essential lists seem to generated and organized by desired feelings. When I pack, I often pack twice. First, for the feelings and hopes and dreams I have for the trip. My second pass is to adjust this for the physical comforts or discomforts that I know, more rationally, I want to have or will face, because being physically comfortable or at least prepared helps me to really enjoy a trip.
My essential packing list (not in the emergency evac context):
- 2 pants
- 1 soft pant for sleeping, stretching
- 1 tee
- 2 button shirts, probably flannels
- 1 cozy sweater
- bathroom basics + prescriptions
- Yorkshire tea and a teaspoon
- dark chocolate bar
- water bottle
- journal + 2 pens
- 2 books, even if on Kindle
- 1 book of poetry, or meditations
- sketch pad + pencil case
- chargers
- sneakers
- flats
- coat, or coat + shell
- at least 1 scarf
- extra contact lenses
- back-ups of my itinerary/airbnb access info/ID
- earbuds; earplugs
- Burts Bees lip balm (probably 2)
- and yes, my housekey - clipped someplace safe in my bag
Book recs - there are so many good ones here from this community. Some names/titles that have stood out when I need to change it up: Pema Chodron; "Fates & Furies"; Elizabeth Strout; "Interior Chinatown"; Calvin & Hobbes.
My thoughts and strongest hopes and wishes are with you, Suleika!
All the love and light to you as your next journey begins. You have brought so many wonderful people together through this group and I hope you feel the strength of the community. My book recommendation is one I just finished and couldn’t put down. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. Definitely transports you and grabs your attention.
I think you would enjoy Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri. A book about observing the lives around us, noticing, and paying attention. It has short chapters, each holding insights into the protagonist’s observations. I found it meaningful and calming in a world jumbled with strife and stress. I wish you the best for your transplant and subsequent healing!
My favorite book that brings a smile to my face is The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 🙂 It’s such a heartwarming and humorous read. I loved listening to it as an audiobook. Sending you so much love and strength Suleika!
Jan 30, 2022·edited Jan 30, 2022Liked by Suleika Jaouad
During my autologous stem cell transplant in 1998 at Columbia Pres, brought New Yorker cartoons with me & tapped them to the outside door to my room. Brought enough to change them periodically. Those entering my room typically entered with a smile, a moment for us to connect about a cartoon before the endless blood draws, changing iv bags, etc.
Wishing you feel the love of the many of us who feel a strong connection to you
Wishing you well, Suleika. Book recommendation: anything by Alexander McCall Smith. His “Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency” series is well-known, but the “Corduroy Mansions” and “Scotland Street” series are just as good: light serialised stories that delight with gentle humour and wisdom.
I live in Sutton, Quebec, very close to the Vermont border. I got into reading Louise Penny’s Gamache/Three Pines series at the beginning of the pandemic. I bought the books at a local bookstore that is the inspiration for the bookstore in the series. I read them back to back. The main characters become family!
Sending you positive thoughts for the next part of your journey…!
Jenny Slate feels like my best friend when I read Little Weirds. It’s a collection of little essays, I suppose, from someone so whimsical and colorful, but also emotionally probing. She feels joy at the world, solitude, and finds a worship of herself and life. It’s not written in a linear way, but more in little weirds. It will never leave my shelf, even as I Marie Kondo it. Hahaha!
P.S. Another delightful read!: "Running with Sherman" by Christopher MacDougall... This one made me both laugh and cry as I fell in love with the title character, Sherman (and pals).
I’m spending my Sunday in bed, reading all of your gorgeous comments and fabulous recommendations. This community astounds me again and again. I love you all! ❤️
If you haven't read it already, Writers and Lovers by Lily King, plus something you should already have in what I expect is a voluminous, jam-packed mail bag. I, too, am forever and always on team Suleika.
Dear Suleika,
My favorite "cozy" read is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. You are in my prayers. Jeanne, Pugwash Nova Scotia
The P.G Wodhouse Wooster and Jeeves books are very entertaining if you don't want to think too much want a witty and funny escape.
I also have had to have a continued relationship with a blood cancer. There have been times I did not know if when I went in for a check-up for treatment or a ER run during treatment whether I would be admitted. I would bring my favorite cotton throw blanket that I could wrap around my shoulders or rest my head on. It gave me a sense of home and the natural world since hospitals have so much plastic including the beds. That was the first thing that I grabbed. Also, my journal which over the years I have filled with inspiring thoughts and poems written by others like myself but also by the sages of the world. They supported me emotionally during my stays unknown trips. I brought really good headphones that I could listen to gentle music or podcasts when I felt the worst. I’ve told my family that if I have a long stay again I would like to bring in one of our small paintings so I could gaze at it and day dream through it. These are my essentials along with pens and paper and chargers and comfortable clothes. I have been reading a small little book called The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey along with a page at a time of The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh. We do not know each other but I can only say your writings have touched my heart. I am so sorry you have been on this difficult journey. I will be sending you much love next week and as you heal.
Not a book recommendation, but a suggestion to shift the mood of self & flourescent lighting: light or medium plum-tinted Cocoons. They provide a much cozier outlook in a hospital setting. I can’t recommend them enough. Thank you for including us in part of your journey. Will be thinking of you.
Thank you for this excellent, excellent prompt (and for sharing your response!). I had two specific reactions. First, Joan Didion's list ends with her house key and in her writing she describes the author of that list as someone who values the combination of control, momentum, and a fully-embodied narrative. The house key immediately made me think of one of my personal principles of travel, that one of the best reasons to leave is so that you can come home again. I like to wonder if Joan knew that living in pursuit of the world was possible for her because she had an anchor - a home, and it's key. Second, reading the various lists that have been shared here, I find it wonderful that so many essential lists seem to generated and organized by desired feelings. When I pack, I often pack twice. First, for the feelings and hopes and dreams I have for the trip. My second pass is to adjust this for the physical comforts or discomforts that I know, more rationally, I want to have or will face, because being physically comfortable or at least prepared helps me to really enjoy a trip.
My essential packing list (not in the emergency evac context):
- 2 pants
- 1 soft pant for sleeping, stretching
- 1 tee
- 2 button shirts, probably flannels
- 1 cozy sweater
- bathroom basics + prescriptions
- Yorkshire tea and a teaspoon
- dark chocolate bar
- water bottle
- journal + 2 pens
- 2 books, even if on Kindle
- 1 book of poetry, or meditations
- sketch pad + pencil case
- chargers
- sneakers
- flats
- coat, or coat + shell
- at least 1 scarf
- extra contact lenses
- back-ups of my itinerary/airbnb access info/ID
- earbuds; earplugs
- Burts Bees lip balm (probably 2)
- and yes, my housekey - clipped someplace safe in my bag
Book recs - there are so many good ones here from this community. Some names/titles that have stood out when I need to change it up: Pema Chodron; "Fates & Furies"; Elizabeth Strout; "Interior Chinatown"; Calvin & Hobbes.
My thoughts and strongest hopes and wishes are with you, Suleika!
Dear Suleika,
All the love and light to you as your next journey begins. You have brought so many wonderful people together through this group and I hope you feel the strength of the community. My book recommendation is one I just finished and couldn’t put down. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. Definitely transports you and grabs your attention.
I think you would enjoy Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri. A book about observing the lives around us, noticing, and paying attention. It has short chapters, each holding insights into the protagonist’s observations. I found it meaningful and calming in a world jumbled with strife and stress. I wish you the best for your transplant and subsequent healing!
My favorite book that brings a smile to my face is The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 🙂 It’s such a heartwarming and humorous read. I loved listening to it as an audiobook. Sending you so much love and strength Suleika!
Dear Suleika,
I am sending you positive wishes and love. I always read Anne of Green Gables when I need to smile!❤️
During my autologous stem cell transplant in 1998 at Columbia Pres, brought New Yorker cartoons with me & tapped them to the outside door to my room. Brought enough to change them periodically. Those entering my room typically entered with a smile, a moment for us to connect about a cartoon before the endless blood draws, changing iv bags, etc.
Wishing you feel the love of the many of us who feel a strong connection to you
Wishing you well, Suleika. Book recommendation: anything by Alexander McCall Smith. His “Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency” series is well-known, but the “Corduroy Mansions” and “Scotland Street” series are just as good: light serialised stories that delight with gentle humour and wisdom.
I live in Sutton, Quebec, very close to the Vermont border. I got into reading Louise Penny’s Gamache/Three Pines series at the beginning of the pandemic. I bought the books at a local bookstore that is the inspiration for the bookstore in the series. I read them back to back. The main characters become family!
Sending you positive thoughts for the next part of your journey…!
Jenny Slate feels like my best friend when I read Little Weirds. It’s a collection of little essays, I suppose, from someone so whimsical and colorful, but also emotionally probing. She feels joy at the world, solitude, and finds a worship of herself and life. It’s not written in a linear way, but more in little weirds. It will never leave my shelf, even as I Marie Kondo it. Hahaha!
P.S. Another delightful read!: "Running with Sherman" by Christopher MacDougall... This one made me both laugh and cry as I fell in love with the title character, Sherman (and pals).