Touched Out launches in paperback tomorrow!
Today: a live salon with Glynnis MacNicol, author of I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself
First, today (Monday Sept 23) at 11am PT/ 2pm ET I’m hosting a literary salon with Glynnis MacNicol, author of the deliciously juicy book, I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself, the cover of which my kids love because “it has a butt”! We will talk about midlife, desire, touch, sexy consent scenes, and the pleasures of writing. There will be time to ask questions.
The salon is for paid subscribers of the newsletter— you can access the Zoom link at the bottom of this post, under the paywall. The event will be recorded and sent out to all paid subscribers if you can’t attend live.
Second, tomorrow marks the release of the paperback of my book, Touched Out. I wanted to write a grand reflection on what the last year has been like, but it feels impossible. Since Touched Out launched in hardcover last September, essays inspired by the book and excerpts have been published at The New York Times, The Guardian, Elle, Time, Vogue, The Irish Times, and Lit Hub. You can find interviews about the book at The Cut, Guernica, LARB, Write or Die, and many Substack newsletters, including Culture Study.
The response to the book was at first a lot. I was reminded that for those on the Right, a thinking woman, a mother with memories of life before motherhood, who sometimes recalls those memories as she breastfeeds or cares for those around her, is still controversial. I was reminded, too, that the very idea of maternal memoir, of a woman testifying to her full and complex subjectivity, is still in question.
But by far what has overwhelmed me most, in the best way, are the many notes I’ve received from readers and the conversations I’ve had at events. What I’ve heard the most has been gratitude for the space the book opened up for readers to connect the parts of their lives that previously felt like they had to be kept separate. Women who said they pushed the book not just on other women and mothers, but on men, hoping it would encourage some empathy and understanding.
When I was writing the book, I was consumed by the need to say the thing, to create an experience on each page, and to do the intellectual work of connecting those parts. But talking to readers has reminded me that I really write to invite feeling, and to invite conversation. This week, I’m personally feeling all sorts of ways about what this book has brought into my life— brilliant friends and colleagues and students, readers, and writing assignments that have completely changed how I look at the world and my own life. I am not sure what I expected it to feel like to publish this book, but it’s certainly been more than I ever could have imagined.
If you already have a copy of the book, here are some other ways you can support Touched Out:
Leave a review or star rating on Goodreads or Amazon—these reviews really help others find the book
Share the book on social media and with your networks
Give a copy to a friend or a request it at your local library
Most of all, I’m just so grateful to each and every one of you for your support over the last few years.