The Sum of Our Parts

Parts therapy and profile writing, my latest not-so-guilty pleasure, and a new album I am loving.

Dear Readers,

Thank you for being with me for another week. How are you doing? What's new in your world? What's on your mind? Hit reply and let me know.

It's about 10:30 a.m. as I write. The birds are singing outside, my dog is at playcare (hopefully burning off some of his bottomless scoundrel energy), and I need to revise two profiles I wrote this week so I can meet a deadline today. Both are about interesting people at different stages of life, who have grappled with thinking they wanted one thing for themselves, only to find out that life or fate or something else has pointed them in a different direction. We all deal with that, for better or for worse, and I look forward to sharing these stories with you once they are officially in print.

As I've mentioned before, I love writing about people, whether it's for a magazine, or for something much longer and meatier like a book. There's nothing I enjoy more than I having a long conversation with someone I've never met about who they are, where they came from, the challenges they've faced, and how they've overcome them to do what they do. Maybe they're trying to help children make healthier eating choices. Maybe they're a graduate student who has been impacted by gun violence and so they want to figure out how to incorporate safety issues into urban planning. Maybe they thought they'd be an NBA head coach, but wound up heading the basketball program at their alma mater.

Whoever they are, wherever they come from, you'll find time and time again that one of the challenges they often face is their own damn complicated selves, which contain multitudes, like it or not. I told you last week that I was listening to a podcast called "Hidden Parts" about how mental chatter shapes some of the things we do, and as I've listened to more of the episodes and read into the field of "parts therapy" I've found what I've been learning to be pretty useful in terms of the interviews I do for my work. For example, say you wanted to be a pro baseball player growing up, but people told you that you were too slow and not big enough, and didn't hit with enough power. Five years down the road, that part of you still exists within your core being, and tells you that you're not enough because someone else told you so. But also, the little kid who loved playing baseball and had the dream of being in the MLB also exists inside you too, as does the person who says maybe I should just hang it up and become something else because I am adult and have bills to pay. So there's a lot going on within. Do you nurture the little boy who may not be huge and quick, but has great bat skills? Do you give into the part of you who was told there's no place for you here? Or do you press forward, acknowledging that you're still that little boy with a dream and that you have a gift that will serve you well and make you a three-time batting champion? How people – like Luis Arraez of the San Diego Padres, for example – wrestle with questions like this fascinates me, and I work really hard to make sure that dynamic comes out when I tell a story. In the end, I hope it helps someone who is wrestling with something, or doesn't believe in themselves, or is stuck in some way.

At any rate, that's where I am this Friday morning, just soldiering on. I hope you have all have a wonderful weekend! See you again next week.

Paige

Writing prompt: You contain multitudes. What are those multitudes and how and when do they help or hurt you? How can you handle those multitudes so you can approach things with more ease?

The creative process is not controlled by a switch you can simply turn on or off; it's with you all the time.

-- Alvin Ailey

Endnotes

What I've been watching

I'm a little too obsessed with Apple TV+'s "Careme," the historically dubious, but no less enthralling series about the real-life Napoleonic-era chef Antonin Careme, who rose from poverty to cook elaborate dishes for European luminaries, create the sky-high chef's toque ("so you can see me from far away"), and establish a system for how professional kitchens are run, among other things. Now, you may wonder why you should watch this if a new season of "The Bear" dropped this week. Valid question. "Careme" isn't history-heavy (or even historically accurate), but it is a wonderfully escapist romp through the early 19th century, chock full of blackmail, intrigue, whimsical-yet-diplomatically-important meals, and, yes, seduction. Careme, played by the rakishly handsome actor Benjamin Voisin, is presented as this rock star-like character who doesn't just cook in the kitchen, if you catch my drift. Ladies love him, and he sure does love the ladies, which is putting it mildly. Powerful men deploy him on all manner of missions where his charm, looks, and skills will come in handy. I think my favorite scene so far was when his boss, the diplomat Charles-Maurice de Tallyrand-Perigord, sends him off to Poland to help convince Louis XVIII to give up his claim to the French throne to help stabilize the country (which did not happen in real life). Before the journey, Careme prepares and preserves a grand meal that will remind Louis of the pleasures of France. That meal is sabotaged and Careme is left with nothing but potatoes to work with. He scrambles (drama!) and comes up with a decadent potatoes au gratin that reminds Louis of when he was but a wee boy. "I smell potatoes...I smell butter...I smell cream...I haven't had this since I was seven years old...," Louis says. Very Proustian. Very "Ratatouille." Very corny, but oh-so-very fun. I'll be really disappointed if there's not a season two.

Having said that...

My sister is probably wondering why I'll watch "Careme" if I won't watch "Napoleon" with Joaquin Phoenix. I'll explain. "Careme" may have its historical inaccuracies, but it is a real sexy frolic. "Napoleon" is long, historically inaccurate, and full of war scenes, which I can only take so much of, especially now. Besides, there's no way I'll ever be able to watch "Napoleon" without seeing Johnny Cash on horseback.

Congratulations are in order to...

...the LSU Tigers, who just won their eighth College World Series title last weekend.

What I've been reading

As a history geek who is concerned about this current trend toward erasure, I recently picked up Blk Mkt Vintage: Reclaiming Objects and Curiosities That Tell Black Stories. Written by Jannah Handy and Kiyannah Stewart, who own a Brooklyn-based store of the same name (blkmktvintage.com), the book explores the guiding principles behind Handy and Stewart's collecting work, shares the couple's private collection of Black historical artifacts, and provides guidance on how to start a collection of your own. "Deliberate erasure must be met with deliberate centering," they write, and they feature some of the Black archivists, artists, memory workers and collectors who are ensuring that Black material culture is preserved for future generations.

What I've been listening to

Little Simz's new album "Lotus." 10/10 would recommend. The British-Nigerian rapper never misses. I just love her.

Where I hope you'll donate this week

Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation invests in breakthrough research to prevent and cure breast cancer. Please consider a gift of any amount. Until July 31, Greensource will give $3 for every $1 donated, so it's a perfect way to maximize the impact of your donation and help even more people. Thank you.