At the moment, I am working on two books and am regularly publishing a newsletter.
Better Strangers is a thrice-weekly Substack newsletter focusing on books, politics, nature, parenting, and life, all while living through what feels like the apocalypse. B.S. covers a wide range of topics, and serves largely as an incubator where I can develop and play with ideas. This means sometimes I’m writing about the legacy of Chumbawamba, sometimes I’m focused on how H.P. Lovecraft helps us understand racism in America, and sometimes I’m sharing tips on building better reading habits.
I am always looking for collaborators or cross-posting opportunities with Better Strangers! Subscribe here:
Down the Shore is a travelogue, memoir, and personal history of the State of New Jersey from the perspective of a transplant who found the state hard to love.
In my early 20’s, all I could think about was getting out of my hometown, Cincinnati, Ohio. The soundtrack to my desperate need to escape? Springsteen’s seminal Born to Run album. When I finally managed to move abroad, I met and fell in love with a Jersey girl, who brought me back to live in Asbury Park, New Jersey, the very town which, according to Springsteen, “rips the bones from your back.”
When we got married and had kids, it became clear that I wasn’t going to escape New Jersey anytime soon, so I needed to learn to love the place which is — by popular consent — the most hated state in the union.
My solution was to walk 187 miles, all the way down the shore, from the Palisades across the Hudson from New York, past the site of the most notorious traffic jam in history, along the infamous “Chemical Coast,” over shark-infested rivers, through World War I bombsites, past devil-haunted pinelands, and finally, to the tip of the former pirate hideout of Cape May.
Over 2 years, one pandemic, the birth of two children, and countless blisters, I learned the strange history of America’s maligned coast, and of the many strange connections it had to my own personal family history, and finally, found a way to make “the armpit of America” feel like more of a home than any other place I’ve ever lived.
I am currently seeking representation for this book — polished drafts and proposal are available upon request!
When my first child was born, I was wracked with guilt — was it even responsible to have a child in such turbulent, chaotic times? As I asked around, I realized a huge number of people in my life either didn’t have kids because of their concerns about the future, or were deeply anxious about their children’s prospects in the coming century.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting the Apocalypse (working title) is the philosophical and practical toolkit I assembled in the wake of having two kids. It is a clear-eyed look at just how bad our current moment is, but it refuses to succumb to apathy and despair. WTEWYETA is an empowerment guide for parents who want to raise resilient, kind, thoughtful kids (who can also survive the coming wasteland).
I am currently seeking representation for this book — proposal available upon request!