FMG: Some love for two states I've called home

+ the books that have brought me joy this week

Happy Friday from the beautiful Michigan lakeshore! Every so often, I like to pop up here to remind myself that Lake Michigan is indeed stunning from every single angle. Still true!

All week, I’ve hoped I’d have the right words to say to convey my feelings about and the gravity of this week’s flooding in the Texas Hill Country. I’m a former Texas resident, a lover of many current Texas residents, and a staunch believer in the magic of summer camp. While each and every death and injury from these floods is a tragedy, those that took place at Camp Mystic hit me the hardest. For those poor, innocent young girls to be taken from their beds in the middle of the night by a cruel natural disaster is nothing short of a nightmare, and the bravery of the adults (and fellow children) who stepped up to save and support each other cannot possibly be overstated. Make no mistake: Increasingly frequent natural disasters are the result of climate change, and no amount of money is too great to be spent on prevention, awareness, public alert systems, or recovery. We cannot undo climate change, but we can fight every day to slow it down and to respond to it with respect, scientific integrity, and leadership that prioritizes both the preservation of the earth and the safety of its residents. I will never believe in politicizing the deaths of children, but I do believe in learning from tragedy and responding with change. May every effort we make towards these goals be done in honor of those sweet girls and their families.

In my ongoing pursuit of spreading light and love, see below for a bit on the books that have brought me joy this week.

After the cathartic sob-fest that was Atmosphere, I knew I needed to add a string of beach reads to my TBR list. I began with One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune, which is loosely the sequel to her book Every Summer After. (The first book is about one of two brothers and his love interest, and the second book is about the other brother. You don’t HAVE to have read Every Summer After first, but One Golden Summer does contain spoilers about what happened in Every Summer After.) The main characters in One Golden Summer, Alice and Charlie, were my favorite fictional characters in a long time, and their story felt like the perfect mix of swoon-worthy/cheesy and realistic. You’ll want to read it and then book a trip to the nearest lake immediately.

I’m also nearly done with Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez, which is also hitting just the right summer-by-the-lake tone. It’s honestly heavier than a typical rom-com, but I appreciate the acknowledgment that love, romance, and healing can coexist.

With that, I’m going to head back to my vacation — and by that, I mean I’m going to head back to obsessively watching grainy fan videos of Paige and Azzi. IYKYK (and oh, I know). Cheers to love and basketball!

XO,

Gail

For anyone who would like to donate to Kerr County flood relief and long-term rebuilding, I learned about this fund through this post on Instagram.