75

Or, Calm Down

Reader,

I’m surprised I read anything this week. All it feels like I’ve done is watch The Office and Succession when I’ve not been engaged in wage work. At this point, we all know what was happening, and yet this regular event still holds an element of surprise (Come on, me!!!).

Here’s something that helped me on the reading front: going to the Mara yesterday and being away from the telly and headphones or earbuds (when I walk). I cycled between sleeping (we left Nairobi just after 0400), snacking (assembling a fruit and yoghurt parfait will never not be a joy) and reading The People Who Report More Stress by Alejandro Varela alongside Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb. I picked up the Varela because I enjoyed his first book - The Town of Babylon - and the Gottlieb because it’s the group read for the Mental Health May Readathon hosted by Marilyn Maya Mendoza and Kim from Middle of the Book March.

I should probably put this in an email to the writer but I’ll write it in my newsletter instead. The Mara trip got off to an iffy start for me (the people organising arrived late, for instance) but nothing sleep, snacks and reading couldn’t help with. When we got to the national reserve, our van got stuck in some mud (this wasn’t unexpected; it’s been raining and a search for “mud in the Mara” yields a lot of images for a reason) twice - as did the second van. The catch? The second one was stuck for hours, led to another getting stuck as it tried to pull the van out, and made for interesting viewing for The Vast Unstuck. Finishing Varela’s book (which I’ll talk about over on the channel in a video that will be up at some point), and thinking about how much stress I was in (even as I posted about “reading in new places” on Instagram) because of how long we had stalled made me speak up. The way he makes the subtext text in stories that feature the seen and unseen effects of stress on the lives and loves of people reminded me that I could shift something. Being an afab person speaking to a group composed entirely of men - and with some class differences, which Varela’s stories also touches on - put me on high alert. But the way it was in conversation with my other read - Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - meant I still said “Hey, I’d like to get home some time today, and here’s a solution to this situation” even as I was told to “Calm down” by one of the team members. It took everything for me not to blow my top (but then, also, I’m /in/famously conflict-averse, as are a lot of other Kenyans so would I have?). Some of us experience more stress because of a bunch of factors and sometimes therapy can be a plaster on the gaping wound that is the alienation engendered by capitalism but sometimes it can give us some tools (breathing, asserting oneself) that take some of that stress away. Much to think about, still (including, for instance, the discomfort of hearing a lot of negative narratives about non-Kikuyu people because I’m perceived as one) but books, as always, make a world of difference.

Quick news/ things that may be of interest:

• Don put me on a show set (mostly) in a Canadian public library - Shelved - which I’m slow-watching with Angie

• Sujay Shah’s show, Forgive us for our Skins, is on till 20th May - you can RSVP here.

• I have a new address, begging for content haha: you can send me books, postcards, letters, and assorted gifts via PO Box 102439, Jamia Posta 00101, Nairobi, Kenya 

I have finished three books since I last wrote, some reviews forthcoming. I read the ebook edition of Grease Bats by Archie Bongiovanni, Teen Couple Have Fun Outdoors by Aravind Jayan and The People Who Report More Stress by Alejandro Varela.

I hope to put out a video or two in the week ahead because I’ll have time on Labour Day (Solidarity forever!) to edit my subtitles, which I discussed last week. This week’s toughness has meant I haven’t made much subtitling progress. Before then, subscribe to the channel if you haven’t yet!

As ever, please write back to me and tell me what books you’re reading or looking forward to reading — it’s always a great time talking about books.

Enjoy the rest of the week and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!