Mack as Mom: My Therapist Told Me to Write This
A Newsletter on Motherhood
Written in a haze of sleepiness and anger, if we are friends please let me know if I made any grammar or spelling errors.
Lately I have found myself overwhelmed with my own anger. The next few paragraphs are about my rage, but if you want to skip over that for your own mental health, directly below this section i’m talking about romance novels.
Yesterday the Supreme Court heard the EMTALA case, which essentially will decide whether or not Idaho hospitals will have to provide emergency abortion care in order to receive federal funding. Quite literally the debate is over whether or not failing kidneys or loss of reproductive organs is enough for emergency intervention. EMTALA, passed by congress a few decades ago, requires all states to provide stabilization care to patients who enter through the emergency room. The question now is if Idaho is breaking federal law, which would supersede state law. Of course this may seem obvious— of COURSE we should provide pregnant people with whatever medical means necessary— but Justice Alito has already made it pretty clear he thinks it’s totally chill that six women (up from one) have had to BE AIRLIFTED out of state last year. Of course there could also be downsides to the interpretation of this case, including a future federal ban on abortions that could force states to stop providing the care. If the US wins, it will likely be because conservative judges think it can be used to further their own agenda in the future. It’s kind of a lose-lose case.
The fact that right now we aren’t debating elective abortions, but instead lifesaving care? We saw this coming, and yet republicans really saw this as a cost to doing business.
But it isn’t just the Republicans I am mad at this week! I am furious with my own political party. Joe Biden signing the TikTok ban is a direct hit at free speech. The “National Security Issue” they are talking about is the fact that American companies haven’t been able to get advertising data from TikTok so they can sell us more shit. The other issue? The fact that political organizers live on this app. What they are currently trying to fight? WAR. US INVOLVEMENT IN WAR. When have anti-war protesters ever been on the wrong side of history?? What’s happening in Palestine is a genocide funded with tax-payer dollars. Money that we allegedly do not have for healthcare, education or childcare (80% of New Yorkers cannot afford childcare.) Nothing for the American people— but plenty of bombs for brown children and supplies for Ukraine to fight a war with Russia that will be near impossible to win.
I am angry that the ruling class gets to decide what quality of life will look like for myself and my family. I am angry that there is no environmental or economical preservation for future generations, and yet so many policies put in place to ensure there will be one. I am so fucking mad that politicians seem to have forgotten they are employees of the American people and not the corporations that fill their pockets. I am disturbed the the enormous amount of corruption in my own country, very much at our expense.
So I started watching Sex & The City from the start. I think I am probably closest to a Charlotte. What do you think?
Right on Cue by Falon Ballard is another compulsively readable romance from one of my favorite authors. Speaking of which, I am interviewing her at The Ripped Bodice in early May— plz join me! I’d recommend this one for fans of Ava Wilder’s Will They or Won’t They and Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy’s Merry Little Meet Cute. It’s giving really good Hallmark movie, and sometimes that is exactly what we need.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood is one of the biggest romance releases of the year so far… but it just did not hit for me… I’m so sorry but I simply don’t want to read about werewolf’s and vampires— as evident by the fact that I never got into Twilight.
How to End of a Love Story by Yulin Kuang Is the kind of book that makes me love my most hated trope. I hate enemies to lovers (I know, sue me) because I rarely feel like the reason to hate each other is valid enough to justify the outrageous behavior of the characters. YULIN GETS THAT. This book has the perfect combination of plot and steam and I definitely recommend it.
Only & Forever by Chloe Liese This is the SEVENTH book in the Bergman Brothers series, and if you are really honest with yourself, I think you’re glad it’s over. Don’t get me wrong, if Chloe decides to release a prequel with the parent’s story I will eat that up in a minute, but seven siblings was enough. This one followed Viggo and Tallulah and once again the ~complicated, dark~ love interest was far more interesting and attractive than their Bergman lover. Why did Viggo need to be a virgin? Immediately after Ziggy’s book? There were parts of this I absolutely loved, but one thing I feel like was really missing from the Bergman universe was a big ole slut.
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer I am a girl with many favorites. But right now? This is my favorite book. Annie Bot is told from the perspective of a robot(!!) created for domestic and romantic responsibilities. It’s an absolutely brilliant (into to) sci-fi novel that will have you thinking about humanity and AI in a whole new way. It’s brilliant. Please read!
Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez Is about emerging young latinx women in the art world and the white men who want to control them. There are elements of mystical realism and quite a bit of domestic violence— so keep that in mind. I loved Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl and this one hit about as hard!!
Come & Get it by Kiley Reid was a book that I truly was dreading. I did not like Such a Fun Age. But one thing about me is I WILL be reading the book club pick, and so I picked it up. Thank GOD. This is a novel told from the perspective of a handful of messy college students and an even messier professor. So much and absolutely nothing happens. The audiobook is fabulous.
The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell is my least favorite of her three books, but it’s still very good. Each chapter covers a different cognitive bias. Though it didn’t hit quite as hard as her other books for me, there was one quote in there that I have referenced several times since reading. “The brain is perennially odd about time— it defaults to hyper-dramatizing the present, glorifying the past, and devaluing the future.” I hope that helps!!
A Gentleman in Moscow (Paramount+) is a fabulous adaption! Admittedly I’m only on episode one, but it is amazing watching this story come to life. It’s Ben’s favorite book of all time, so we’re enjoying it together. Though he did make me take a break to watch Fall Out, which wasn’t for me (nightmares!!)
I Care A Lot by Rosamund Pike (Netflix) was the Official Movie of extremely sickly spring. This came out in 2020 so maybe you missed it. It’s about a shady legal guardian who lands in hot water when she tries to bilk a woman who has ties to a powerful gangster. Go watch it. This movie is a banger.
Do Revenge (Netflix) is a movie i’ve meant to watch for so long and will now watch a million times. A fabulous teen drama about friendship & revenge. It’s so silly and camp and the outfits are amazing— WATCH.
Return to Seoul (Amazon Prime) this movie won an Oscar and I suppose I could see how, but there is NO WAY it would have won for Best International Film this year when the competition was so tight. It’s about an adoptee who grew up in Paris who returns to Korea for a solo trip and while she is there does her best to connect with her birth family. It’s pretty devastating and at times hard to watch.
Okay byeee!
So passionate and well written love ❤️