This is 'Hi, I’m 40'

Reconnecting with creativity in midlife and writing my way into what's next

I’ll turn 40 this year, and I’m starting an exciting new project to celebrate.

I’ve been writing professionally for 15 years, but writing is also my favorite hobby, form of self-expression and mode of self-discovery. As much as I love the craft of writing in my area of expertise, I miss the creativity of writing to discover what I think, as Joan Didion famously described in a 1976 lecture:

“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”

Hitting this midlife milestone amid mounting political, social and economic uncertainty, I’m entering my second act in a world that’s largely dismantled the progress of my first. I find my mind regularly unable to think. A blank space where clear thoughts should form — snowy static with no signal. Frantically seeking clarity.

This is how I know I’ve strayed too far from the writing I need.

I spent 2025 riddled with anxiety under the current political regime, my first book launch giving way to the crickets of everyday life, and, in the end, recovering from a pre-holiday layoff. This year, I’m determined to replace that frantic seeking with comfort and peace.

In the face of uncertainty, I return to myself through writing. As I turn 40, I can write to reconnect to creativity and form a clear picture among the static.

Over the next year, I’ll publish 40 essays about who I am as I turn 40. That is — who I’ve always been, but have spent much of my life ignoring, masking, closeting, avoiding, polishing or glossing over.

Through this project, I’m looking at myself and finding out what I think, what I see and what it means. I’m reconnecting to the craft that’s always forged the right path for me — writing my way into what’s next.

Here’s how you can follow along: I’ll publish weekly-ish essays through this newsletter starting on my 40th birthday on March 6. Subscribe below so you don’t miss them!

BONUS: When you sign up anytime between now and March 6, you’ll get instant access to an unpublished bonus essay, “Who was I at 12 years old?”