"The Crane Wife" & my most-read newsletters
A review of "The Crane Wife" by CJ Hauser plus the best food, lifestyle, fashion, and shopping newsletters on the internet
Last night I reread one of my favorite essays “The Crane Wife.” It’s short — like a 7-minute read — and lives in this digestible but impactful space between a magazine article and a novel (I think I need to read more essays). To summarize, it’s a story from the perspective of a woman who’s just called off her wedding…drama. While processing the end of her relationship, she goes to Texas to tag along on a birding expedition with a zany group of scientists studying the whooping crane.
The writer, CJ Hauser, is so likable, smart, and confident that it’s shocking when she flashes back to all the times she made herself small and palatable for her ex. I don’t want to spoil the plot so I’ll stop there, but it’s a 12/10 read. It’s poetic (woman as crane), relatable, and beautifully illustrates the pervasiveness of gaslighting (I don’t love the term, but it’s appropriate here). If I could, I’d make this required reading for young women.
I originally found “The Crane Wife” through a random link in a newsletter, but I can’t remember which one, so I want to share some of the best letters that have graced my inbox this summer. Most of what I subscribe to falls in the fashion-lifestyle-beauty category, but broader cultural insights always seem to spill in at the seams. Here are my all-around favorite subs!
Food
“A Newsletter” By Alison Roman - Alison used to have a food column at the NYT and now publishes a newsletter, called “A Newsletter” (ironically), which kind of functions as my cookbook. For dinner last Sunday, I made her roasted eggplant pasta; it was perfect and simple (although to be fair, I was the sous chef and took a backseat in the prep). Here’s a photo of how it turned out. Impressive, I think, and delicious.
If you like the newsletter, you might also like Alison’s podcast, Solicited Advice, which is awesome. In it, she gives cooking advice and answers relatable questions about how to be a good host, what to buy at a farmer’s market versus Trader Joe’s, and birthday party etiquette.
Shopping
“What I Actually Bought” by the Selleb Sisters - Two cool sisters in their 20s share their receipts - things they bought and felt were worth it. Real receipts cover movie theater tickets (adding popcorn and fountain Diet Coke, obvi), Amazon snacks (apparently these are phenom), and The Real Real hauls. I trust these girls; they have a fun sense of humor, great taste, and also feature receipts submitted by other creatives.
Advice
“Ask Polly” by Heather Havrilesky - I read these advice columns out loud - that’s how much I love Heather’s words and perspective. Whenever a letter drops into my inbox (usually once a week), I know I’ll have an insightful read that occasionally moves me to tears.
Lifestyle
“Grace’s Substack” by Grace Atwood - In working on this newsletter and others I often find myself referencing the casual tone and broad scope of Grace’s. Through subscribing to her newsletter, I found a library of posts shared on her blog, The Stripe, which feels very old-school bloggy in the best way. Grace is a recent follow for me, but she shares a lot so I feel like I already understand her style; I’m lusting after this ring from By Pariah and this adorable $20 notepad (hostess gift!) that she turned me onto. It’s a little high with a little low. I also found — and love — the podcast she used to co-host, Bad on Paper, which offers great book recommendations.
Fashion
“The Love List” by Jess Graves - I find Grace intimidatingly smart and I respect her approach to fashion content - it’s like Vogue but online and more personal. The design feels very editorial and most of her recommendations are aspirational (i.e. not affordable for me), but she’s unapologetic about the price point as it’s her style. I liked this quote from her recent newsletter and saved it to my Notes.
“We should all want people making stuff — art, music, content, writing, etc. — from where their interests genuinely are. Because we all know when you make stuff that your heart isn’t in, it kinda sucks. You get the best work out of people when you put them where their passion is.”
Self-development
“FWD Joy” by Chrissy Rutherford - Chrissy was a fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar when I was an intern. She’s now off on her own and her newsletter, FWD Joy, is so good. She opens up about her romantic relationships and career pivots, and interviews experts on attachment, spirituality, and mental health. The throughline is self-development.
NY Insider
FOUND NY - You can tell there’s a whole team behind this newsletter. The recommendations are so thoughtful and well-curated. If you’re from the New York area or planning a trip, subscribe for insider restaurant recs, events in the city, upstate hotel guides, and real estate dealings (fascinating, $$). One recent newsletter linked to this amazing guide to the best East Coast road trips, which I immediately saved. I don’t have a car, but someday.
Obsessions: Beauty Edition
I’ve tried to be more conscious about my beauty consumption lately. But these are four things I’ve tried, loved, and can recommend wholeheartedly.
T3’s Dyson Airwrap dupe. My $600 Dyson Airwrap is gathering dust under my sink because T3’s version is better (and cheaper). It comes with everything I need for an at-home blowout, and nothing I don’t: There’s a blowdryer head, a round-brush blowdryer (my most-used), plus two air flow-powered curling wands (one that blows air clockwise, the other counterclockwise) which make a curling iron obsolete.
‘In My Healing Era’ baseball hat. The other night I went to an Allies of Skin event and met with brand founder Nicolas Travis. Years ago, Nicolas suffered a serious accident that resulted in several botched facial surgeries which led him to the lowest point in his life. Luckily, Nicolas found two things: a therapist who helped pull him out of his depression and a purpose in creating skincare. His line, Allies of Skin, is not only super effective (it’s the only skincare Kaia Gerber uses, as she told me in an interview in which she was supposed to be promoting another brand lol), but the brand messaging is very much rooted in self-acceptance. I got this hat that says, ‘In my healing era.’
A classically good moisturizer. I was dealing with a weird mess of breakouts on my cheeks and lower face after testing a ‘slugging’ moisturizer (bad idea, petroleum jelly in the summer is a recipe for clogged pores). I immediately switched to this Fresh moisturizer and my skin bounced back overnight. It's a best-seller for good reason.
YSE Brightening Treatment. Molly Sims is almost 50 and she looks closer to 35, IMO. Earlier this week, I met her at Nine Orchard Hotel and she walked me through her skincare brand YSE (pronounced ‘wise’). I thought the packaging was pretty, but I learned that the products are freaking good, like medical-grade skincare vetted by doctors. While reporting a recent story on how to treat hyperpigmentation, a dermatologist recommended the YSE Brightening Serum. Like prescription Tretinoin, you only need a pea-sized amount to cover your whole face at night, and it treats all forms of inflammation, from rosacea to acne and sun spots, while you sleep. It’s like a magic eraser, in the best way.
Thanks for reading all the way through!! I hope you found some gems to take with you:)
x Megan