My Work Has Been Translated Into Italian!
Thanks to the folks over at Galapagos mag, my writing has been translated into one (molto importante) new language: Italian! This piece was a 2021 hit for McSweeney’s, and you can now read Galapagos’ translation (or, try to read it) at their stunning new site.
This piece also makes an appearance in my upcoming book, which you can preorder here!
Behind the Writing
I’ve written about this piece before, so today I’m sharing below a peak-behind-the-curtain I gave to McSweeney’s for their Patreon “Behind the Tendency Classics” page…
I’ve been fortunate enough to afford to pay for a roof over my head my entire adult life—but I’ve never actually owned my roof. As most people like me who rent their roofs will tell you: without a wealthy benefactor, buying and owning a roof has only become more and more out of reach.
Separately, I have felt unendingly inundated with advice about cutting financial corners to save up for a down payment, or to put away for retirement, or to buy a big block of gold. These cuttable corners often include spending less on a new phone, or eating less avocado toast, or buying a slightly smaller block of gold.
So I married these two frustrating realities (I got a certificate online to do this), and the child they had (in wedlock, I promise) was that piece.
[…]
I sat down and wrote this specific piece in less than an hour. But I thought about the ideas behind it for a very long time—years, maybe! Because for that very long time, they were just that: ideas. They were thoughts about the housing market, the economy, inequality, roofs, and avocado toast, all rattling around in my tired head. Now that they’re out there on the page, I can finally sleep.
Which reminds me, that’s one part of my writing process I forgot to mention: I haven’t slept in years.
Pre-Order My Book
My upcoming collection of satirical essays called This Won’t Help: Modest Proposals for a More Enjoyable Apocalypse comes out October 24. You can pre-order it at any of the book-sellers linked here:
That’s all for today—thanks, as always, for reading and supporting this newsletter. It means a whole lot. See you Wednesday!