So you write a book, a silly, lightweight book, but technically, still a book. Then you get the courage to take it to the beloved local bookstore. Then you invite a few people you know so you have an audience while you hear yourself talk (aka “have a book reading”). And every time you look up, you see a smiling, friendly, familiar face. And you think, so this is what it means to be part of a community. Thank you to everyone who came out last night. And especially to the singularly talented and charming @christinelennonplus2 and @chevaliersbooks for hosting us. Oh and if anyone wants the recipe for the perfect cocktail, page 77.
Welcome Dispatches!
Ciao from Larchmont! 🇮🇹✨ Local author Danielle Pergament is bringing la dolce vita to Chevalier’s Books TOMORROW, Tuesday, April 21, at 7 pm — in conversation with fellow local author Christine Lennon. Her debut book, Dispatches from the Piazza, is your guide to living like a pretend Italian, and honestly, we’re all in.
Stop by and soak up some Mediterranean magic.
#DispatchesFromThePiazza #ChevalierBooks #Larchmont #LosAngelesReads #LaVitaèBella
For 17 years, you have made the world a more beautiful, more joyful, more wondrous place. And there is nothing better than watching your clever, brilliant, occasionally mischievous, sometimes bawdy, always funny mind at work. Being your mother is the greatest joy of my life. You will be an official adult in one year, true, but you will always be my little girl.
For three days, it was 1996.
There were late nights and dance parties and Aerosmith. People snuck in joints and told raunchy jokes and blew way past their bedtimes. That guy was still hot for that girl. That kid who was the smartest kid for 10 miles is now the smartest man for 10 miles. That person who always brought out the cigarettes at 2 AM had better cigarettes. And those guys who rode the mechanical bull at Shooters did it again but with perhaps less agility.
Some of us got more greys. Some lost our hair altogether. Some got some well-earned eye crinkles. And a lucky few seem to be aging in reverse. But whatever paths we took in the last 30 years we have the rare gift of shared history.
It’s like that fable: Six blind men touch different parts of an elephant. They think they are touching six different things—a wall, a rope, a snake, a fan, a pillar, a spear. Alone, it’s incomplete. Only with each other do we get the whole picture.
The shared stories, the shared jokes, the shared past, the shared coming-of-ageness. People I barely remember know me in a way my own kids never will.
You can’t bring the past back, you can’t create a different history, but the truest of all truisms is this: you can’t make old friends. 💙 💙💙
If you’ve ever had dreams of throwing it all away and moving to the Mediterranean, here’s one way to do it: Have the singularly talented @mokshini — my favorite illustrator in @newyorkermag or anywhere — draw your new life. Also start wearing linen. My new book is out today. Link in bio to order.
Thank you @publishersweekly for such a nice review of “Dispatches from the Piazza.” The pub date is one week away and this makes it all feel real. (Link in bio to pre-order.)
To all my LA friends, acquaintances, and people who cut me off on the 405: I’m having a book party (special appearance by the lovely @christinelennonplus2 ) Come learn how to be more Mediterranean, what makes good olive oil, why you never have a cappuccino after dinner, and why an Aperol Spritz is not a real drink. Also, there will be snacks. Hope to see you there!
We were told that 50 marked the beginning of…not giving up necessarily, but maybe caring less? Loosening the grip. Softening the edges. Sliding into puff sleeve tops and low expectations. All the energy previously reserved for crunches and perfect hair could now be directed to more fulfilling pursuits than our physical presentation. At least that’s how Allure contributor @dkpergament once saw the promise of relief as she approached the half-century mark. Now, at 52, she’s coming to terms with a dream deferred—or at least the comfort of mom jeans denied. Despite all the lip service to “aging gracefully” (whatever that is) or reclining in a warm bath of wisdom and wrinkles, from where Pergament is sitting, the culture’s value pendulum has swung towards youth and stayed firmly there. “Forget 50 is the new 40—it’s more like the new 27. But nowhere in my agreement with the universe did anyone tell me that my sixth decade should make room for bikinis or HIIT classes with my own children,” she writes. “So, my question (my plea?) is: Do we ever get to give up?” Go to the link in our bio to read more, then tell us what your answer is.
Photos courtesy of @dkpergament
Welp, I wrote a book and it’s (almost) here. It’s about how to pretend you’re from the Mediterranean which I’m qualified to write about because I do it all the time. Available for preorder at the link in bio.
