I’m not resisting the temptation to reference Joan Didion, though it’s been a while since I’ve read her, and I’ve not yet followed through on my resolution from earlier this week to reread some bell hooks. But here‘s a link to “On Self-Respect” as originally published (under a different title) in Vogue in 1961, with this editorial comment added by anonymous Vogue staffer:
Didion wrote the essay as the magazine was going to press, to fill the space left after another writer did not produce a piece on the same subject. She wrote it not to a word count or a line count, but to an exact character count.
I hope that inspires you as it did me. And here’s a Didion paragraph that gets me every time—and I’ve read it dozens of times—with apologies for the retro language about Native Americans (which refers back to a historical diary account she related earlier in the piece). Apropos self-respect, Didion writes:
Again, it is a question of recognizing that anything worth having has its price. People who respect themselves are willing to accept the risk that the Indians will be hostile, that the venture will go bankrupt, that the liaison may not turn out to be one in which every day is a holiday because you’re married to me. They are willing to invest something of themselves; they may not play at all, but when they do play, they know the odds.
Here at EDITH we’re fully embracing the risk. Actually that’s not exactly true: the bigger gamble would have been not building EDITH at all.
Anyhow, on to quick items:
- Our new project manager is asking us what big feature developments we’ll prioritize in Q1. Voucherify integration is near the top of our list.
- If you want to check out the social reading and book discovery app Literal, still closed to the general public, I’ve three invite codes to give away. Just write to partners@tryedith.co and request one.
- In January we’ll gather a small group of deep thinkers interested in helping us define the EDITH service offerings on the coaching <-> therapy spectrum, referenced in updates v5 and v6, for an hour or two on Google Meet. Please stay tuned. We have some time-zone challenges to contend with when scheduling, which is a nice problem to have.
- Image below from Wunderzeichenbuch (Book of Miracles), c. 1552, recently brought online by the David Zwirner gallery, which incidentally is also a lovely small publisher.
Lastly, a big thank you for being on this venture with us. We’re grateful and excited for 2022. Wishing a Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, and a shiny Happy New Year to all.
To receive these updates via email, please write to megan@tryedith.co and ask to be added to our newsletter list.