We'll get through this together

We've been sick around here. This morning my whole family left the house together for the first time in well over a week, and somebody has been sick more often than not since Christmas Day. And it's not just us: at my kids' schools this week, one-third of the students stayed home because they were sick. That's a lot of germs going around. It's something I hate about this season—and if I'm not attentive, that feeling I have towards sickness becomes pervasive, coloring how I feel about everything this time of year. It's not the easiest season for me, and so each year I try to focus explicitly, intentionally on the things that are saving me. I've had that theme on my mind this week, because just two days ago I posted the invitation on Modern Mrs Darcy to join me once again to share the things that are saving your life in this season. ([Pop over here to read it](; we'll wait.) I hope you'll join us on February 1 to share the things that are getting you through what can be a difficult time of year for many. Speaking of my morning, and the things that save us: [this post about something that continues to save me]() is one of my favorite things I've written on the blog over the years, and is pretty darn appropriate for a day like today. If you're not in a flu-ridden climate, don't feel bad—you're very welcome here. Thanks for giving us hope that sunny, healthy days will come again. And to those who know all too well what I'm talking about: we've found over the years that though winter is hard, pausing at its halfway point to share the things that are helping us through it lightens the load. Thanks, once again, for walking through this dreary season with me here. And next time I promise I have a more light-hearted story coming your way about what happened last Saturday at my local bakery. ([I've shared stories from this spot before](—apparently it's good for my writerly brain to keep hanging out there?) Popular on the blog: • [20 extra-long audiobooks that are 20-ish hours or many, many more](=). Plus TONS more recs in the comments section. • [What I've been reading lately: the new and the notable](). My recent Scotland trip heavily influenced this month's Quick Lit. (I'm finally sharing more about my trip on the blog TOMORROW. [Click here to make sure you're signed up for blog updates]().) • [What I learned from living with all-white walls for a whole year](. This post from the archives is going gangbusters right now. Resolution-related, perhaps? On the podcast: [What Should I Read Next]( turned 3 this month! I've loved talking to readers and playing literary matchmaker for 168 episodes now. If you're a listener, thank you! We'd love it if you helped us celebrate this milestone by sharing the show with a friend or leaving us a review: to podcasters, that is our love language. If you haven't listened before, start with these great recent episodes: • This week [we discuss one reader's exciting challenge]( to read one book published each year between 1920 and 2019. I pitched three (okay, more than three) books worthy of her lineup, including one that is considered by some critics to be “the best mystery story ever written.”• • Can reading change your life? OF COURSE IT CAN. But perhaps not in the ways you expect. [I love this readerly conversation]( about how reading is changing this young reader's life, plus an ambitious thousand-books challenge. Happy reading! Anne P.S. There's still time to join the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club for [Book School]() (and all the other events and discussions we have) and the [2019 Reading Challenge](). P.P.S. The awesome [I'd Rather Be Reading]( sale is over, but [Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything]( is still darn cheap. This is a great book to read to begin a new year: [click here to get yours](. Do you have a friend who would enjoy getting these emails? Please forward this email on to them. [Modern Mrs Darcy](=) | 6000 Brownsboro Park Blvd Ste H, Louisville, Kentucky 40207 [Opt Out of MMD Newsletters Only]( | [Unsubscribe from all MMD emails](