To accompany this week’s book review of Brigid Schulte’s Overwhelmed, our editorial staff provides recommended reading on the subject of TIME (or, perhaps more appropriately, the lack thereof).
by The Editors
1. “Mirrorings” by Lucy Grealy
Harper’s Magazine, February 1993
(linked content from Lost Angeles, CA. See also Autobiography of a Face.)
After a childhood bone cancer leaves part of her jaw missing, Lucy Grealy spends the next 20 years undergoing one reconstructive surgery after another. She measures the passing of time by the “progress” or “regression” of her face, and eventually spends a whole year not looking in the mirror. If there’s one thing she can gaze at unflinchingly, it’s our culture’s obsession with beauty (which hasn’t changed since 1993).
2. “A History of Everything, Including You” by Jenny Hollowell
Text found on You Might Find Yourself, audio available from Radiolab, June 13, 2014 (air date)
Jenny Hollowell’s short story “A History of Everything, Including You” is not just the history of one couple, but everything that led to their creation. The piece was born out of a sense of frustration Jenny felt about trying to account for “everything” in order to understand her life, and the result is beautifully haunting. We highly recommend hearing her read it aloud at the beginning of a Radiolab episode called “The Trouble With Everything.”
3. “Love in the Time of No Time” by Jennifer Egan
The New York Times, November 23, 2001
During the first peak of online dating’s popularity, Jennifer Egan explores how technology is redefining our relationship with time and space, and how that redefines our relationships with each other. I would love to see her write a follow-up piece on today’s more instantly gratifying dating apps like Grindr and Tinder.
4. “Tiny Beautiful Things” by Cheryl Strayed (Dear Sugar)
The Rumpus, February 10, 2011
Back in 2011, Cheryl Strayed was still writing under the moniker of Dear Sugar for The Rumpus. Within a year, she would see her book Wild catapulted to fame, and would reveal herself as the enigmatic voice behind the website’s no-nonsense advice column. But before all of this happened, she wrote a piece titled “Tiny Beautiful Things”. It’s a straightforward slice of wisdom in which she, aged in her 40’s, gives life advice to her 20-year-old self. The column is now a fan favorite, provides the title for her book of collected columns, and sits at the top of our list of regular reads. Get your bookmark tool ready, because this one’s a keeper.
5. “Finding Time” by Rebecca Solnit
Orion Magazine, September/October 2007 issue
Rebecca Solnit argues that we prioritize our time by its profitability, and sacrifice meaningful daily rituals as a result (How often do you find yourself going for walks, investing in leisure, or doing nothing at all?). Read on for ruminations about spaces, suburbia and the value of slowness.
6. “Can you call a 9-year-old a psychopath?” by Jennifer Kahn
New York Times Magazine, May 11, 2012
Because we couldn’t help but get goosebumps while reading this story about “callous-unemotional” children and the people who study them. Many researchers say you can’t label kids as psychopaths, because their brains still need time to develop, and it’s only as they age that true sociopathic behaviors can be identified. But what do you do if you’re a parent who suspects your own child could be the next Norman Bates? Do you act or wait it out?
