August 4, 2026

Dear Harlan,

I hope you’re happy.

I’ve now watched Fool Me Once, Missing You, and I Will Find You and The Stranger. You’ve single-handedly destroyed any chance I had of going to bed at a reasona…

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None of that matters now, because all you guys care about is what happened next in last week’s story.

Fair enough. Honestly, it’s why I love y’all!

I’ll pick up with the night we met in person...

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The hardest seasons often turn out to be the ones that shape us most. Sometimes the people who change us forever arrive at a time when everything else has fallen apart.

For a long time, I wasn’t sure whether to tell this story. If I’ve learned anything as a writer, it’s that our stories become less heavy when they’re shared.

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Getting ten people to agree on where to eat is hard enough. Getting everyone, from the little ones to the teenagers, to walk out of the same movie saying, “That was great,” is basically a Pixar-level miracle.

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Preston and I were so excited about our first session of Camp Joy. We had a great time, and having Preston as a counselor made the week really special. I was looking forward to having a chance to rest and reflect on all the great camp experiences. Leisurely doing laundry and packing for our annual beach trip was part of my master plan. While waiting to move loads from washer to dryer, I’d sit and prepare two newsletters.

Life has a funny way of interrupting even the best laid plans, doesn’t it?

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How many times can a person write about a place they love before readers start thinking, Okay, Andrea. We get it. You like camp.

Writers are supposed to writ…

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Unfortunately, this one fell short.

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Lying on the lawn under the tree at the Upcountry History Museum. Sitting on the brick wall in front of the Children’s Museum. Gathered on the steps outside Triune Mercy Center.

I tried not to stare, but I couldn’t help but wonder about their stories.

Why are they homeless?

Are they pushing buggies and sleeping on benches because of bad luck? Poor decisions? Mental illness? The truth is, I will probably never know.

You know why?

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The past few weeks have been spent in hospital rooms and a rehab center with my aunt. She’s undergone major surgery and it’s been a difficult road. Our days have been long, emotional, and uncertain.

To be honest, I haven’t had anything to give beyond that. I’ve felt a bit like a zombie moving through the days, just trying to be present for my family.

Some…

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I cried for most of yesterday. Nothing bad happened. No crisis. My life is actually mostly good ri…

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The answer to that question is NO. You can’t. I won’t write about Camp Joy again. Instead, I’m going to tell you about Jimmy.

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As you know, I’m juggling three jobs, a 19-year-old with autism who keeps life beautifully interesting, and a 15-year-old whose baseball (and social) schedule appears to have be…

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I was seventeen the first time I saw him.

He walked onto the stage in my high school auditorium with a group of college students who had come to sing and recruit. I don’t remember what song they opened with. I don’t remember what anyone was wearing. I just remember his soft blue eyes, paired with a perfect smile. And the way his sandy blonde hair feathered across his forehead. When he sang, the room shifted. Well, it shifted for me.

I chose my college because of him. I auditioned for the singing group because he was in it. I told everyone it was about the music, about the scholarship, about the experience. I remember using phrases like, “God is calling me to attend North Greenville.”

It was never about the music. It was not about the scholarship. It was not about the experience. It was certainly not a calling. Sorry, God. My decision had everything to do with me hoping to get to know him.

Once there, reality felt smaller than the fantasy I had created. Right off the bat, I learned that he had a long-time girlfriend. Of course he did. We rarely talked. We stood near each other in rehearsals, traveled on the same buses, harmonized in the same churches and school auditoriums. We laughed in the same rooms. But we never quite crossed the space between us. At times, I was sure he avoided me. He was easy, open and jovial with everyone. With me, there was distance. I told myself I was just a girl who had projected too much onto a boy with beautiful eyes.

Until one night on the bus.

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You know the kind — where you want to read, buy more books, but actually opening one feels like a commitment you’re not ready for.

Apparently all I needed was the right stack.

“Reminder…

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You think Valentine’s Day belongs to couples. To grand gestures and flowers and handwritten cards. To being chosen - romantically. Like once you find it, everything else will fall into place.

…

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Before embarking on a book review newsletter, I scrolled back in time through the Tales of the Typewriter archive tab to see exactly which books we’ve already discussed. Not a book review, but an author review, popped up from almost a year ago. I vaguely remember writing about Freida McFadden after we read a few of her many, many best sellers. When we started sharing opinions, Andy and Laurie discovered they both noticed similarities to plots from movies and other books in some of McFadden’s writings. It’s worth a trip back in time to re-read that newsletter, it was interesting.

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Working two days at the Meyer Center, planning Preston’s lessons, managing the ins/outs of JP’s business, writing Greenville stories, and working with my publisher to get our ABC book to the finish line is sometimes (most of the time) all my brain and body can handle. Add planning for a “major ice/snow storm” for six people, seven because we have an extra teenager right now, and it’s been one of those weeks.

You need to know that I’m smiling as I type this out. Why? Because every single job I listed fills my cup. Despite the crazy hours, the anxiety that’s woven into the thread of our home dynamic, I could not be happier!

I am EXTRA excited about one thing that I’m going to share. Think of it as a consolation prize for showing up, even in my absence.

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PLEASE let me know your thoughts. It’s a rough draft, so I’m open to change!

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This week alone, I have been asked three times if I’ve seen “The Housemaid” movie. My answer is a resounding YES. You should too!

Here’s a list of three reasons why:

1. Sydney Sweeney

2. Amanda Seyfried

3. Brandon Skle…

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