Beautifully written as always! We dropped our 18 year old off to start his new year away from home this week and am having waves of sadness and being happy for him and for my next chapter in life. Your letter this week has helped me, I am going to take your lead and put down my sadness and make egg salad.
Oh that's so hard! Egg salad does help! My 18 year old just came home for the weekend - you think they're gone, then they boomerang back again. Our hearts!
When I was a kid my mother used to make egg salad sandwiches for me to bring to school. One day I bit into the sandwich and hit a small piece of the eggshell. I stopped immediately and couldn’t eat another egg salad sandwich again until I made it one day at my cafe and served it on homemade bread with prosciutto!
It's always a good idea to 'taste it again for the first time' 😂 My husband 'forgot' about an egg salad sandwich at the bottom of his school bag in elementary school and needless to say, hasn't eaten one since discovering it! ICK! Thanks for the note :)
You are an amazing writer!! Truly enjoyed your story. I loved that the go cart track is just in a field like you describe and not part of a big strip mall or jammed in with other businesses. The visual of the track and the yellow house amongst the hay is so striking. Thank you!
Thank you William! I'm so grateful that photos like that one exist... I can conjure up images but this one validates my (sometimes blurry) memories! Thanks for the note.
So many friends have shared tales of their challenges getting to the end of Demon's story. That was not my experience. I couldn't wait to get back to it each time I set it aside. Perhaps because I chose the audio version, perhaps because Demon is so likable, perhaps because I was white-knuckling my way to optimism--I can only insist that you get through it. I believe you will find it worth the effort.
I chose this novel for my bookclub to read. I found it very difficult to get through. It tells a very true story. I work with the homeless and I was also a nurse for many years. The story just broke my heart. The sandwich looks delish!
I read Kim Foster's The Meth Lunches before I started Demon, it's all good read, but is about the homeless crisis in Las Vegas, foster children, meth addiction... I need to balance my choices a little better!
I’m not a fan of egg salad or egg anything. But definitely a fan of putting down something hard to go make a bowl of food to soothe myself. Something magical about homemade mayo and a burger made at home. So maybe I’ll make that instead of your egg salad.
Thank you. Substack throws me all over the place - little snippets of life, love and pain - but each author is so good! Thank you for your contribution. And for the relief of egg salad. All the best for the week ahead. 🤗🤗
I love all that you wrote. Demon Copperhead was a favorite read in 2023 and egg salad is just the best, a comfortable companion to good bread. Have you listened to Barbara Kingsolver’s interview on Ezra Klein’s podcast? If not, wait until you finish the book; I found the conversation so poignant.
Thanks Jessica :) I started listening to Ezra Klein's episode and realized it was full of spoilers and turned it off. you're exactly right. I'll dive in when I finish... I WILL FINISH! x
Beautifully written as always! We dropped our 18 year old off to start his new year away from home this week and am having waves of sadness and being happy for him and for my next chapter in life. Your letter this week has helped me, I am going to take your lead and put down my sadness and make egg salad.
Oh that's so hard! Egg salad does help! My 18 year old just came home for the weekend - you think they're gone, then they boomerang back again. Our hearts!
When I was a kid my mother used to make egg salad sandwiches for me to bring to school. One day I bit into the sandwich and hit a small piece of the eggshell. I stopped immediately and couldn’t eat another egg salad sandwich again until I made it one day at my cafe and served it on homemade bread with prosciutto!
It's always a good idea to 'taste it again for the first time' 😂 My husband 'forgot' about an egg salad sandwich at the bottom of his school bag in elementary school and needless to say, hasn't eaten one since discovering it! ICK! Thanks for the note :)
You are an amazing writer!! Truly enjoyed your story. I loved that the go cart track is just in a field like you describe and not part of a big strip mall or jammed in with other businesses. The visual of the track and the yellow house amongst the hay is so striking. Thank you!
Thank you William! I'm so grateful that photos like that one exist... I can conjure up images but this one validates my (sometimes blurry) memories! Thanks for the note.
Egg salad fixes almost everything!
So many friends have shared tales of their challenges getting to the end of Demon's story. That was not my experience. I couldn't wait to get back to it each time I set it aside. Perhaps because I chose the audio version, perhaps because Demon is so likable, perhaps because I was white-knuckling my way to optimism--I can only insist that you get through it. I believe you will find it worth the effort.
I am going to push on. Demon is a gem and deserves to have his story heard (a good character becomes real!). Thanks for the encouragement.
I chose this novel for my bookclub to read. I found it very difficult to get through. It tells a very true story. I work with the homeless and I was also a nurse for many years. The story just broke my heart. The sandwich looks delish!
Just too close to home.
I read Kim Foster's The Meth Lunches before I started Demon, it's all good read, but is about the homeless crisis in Las Vegas, foster children, meth addiction... I need to balance my choices a little better!
I’m not a fan of egg salad or egg anything. But definitely a fan of putting down something hard to go make a bowl of food to soothe myself. Something magical about homemade mayo and a burger made at home. So maybe I’ll make that instead of your egg salad.
I have to eat egg salad when my husband isn't around. He cannot stand the smell!
A burger would be just as soothing :)
Thank you. Substack throws me all over the place - little snippets of life, love and pain - but each author is so good! Thank you for your contribution. And for the relief of egg salad. All the best for the week ahead. 🤗🤗
Thank you Beth, I always feel so grateful to be in such good company here on Substack. have a great week! x
I love all that you wrote. Demon Copperhead was a favorite read in 2023 and egg salad is just the best, a comfortable companion to good bread. Have you listened to Barbara Kingsolver’s interview on Ezra Klein’s podcast? If not, wait until you finish the book; I found the conversation so poignant.
Thanks Jessica :) I started listening to Ezra Klein's episode and realized it was full of spoilers and turned it off. you're exactly right. I'll dive in when I finish... I WILL FINISH! x