This past month was a LOT. There’s really no other way to put it. 

So many of us have felt helpless as entire communities and institutions have literally and figuratively burned. And as we scramble to pick up the pieces and find our footing in this new reality, it’s easy (and completely understandable) to feel overwhelmed and exhausted by the flow of information coming in like a firehose.

That’s why I’ve decided to be careful about tending to my attention. While I strive to be informed, I can’t “sit” with media content all day. Even if it means that I need to delete certain social media apps and limit the time I spend reading the news, my attention is what I can control, and where I place it does make all the difference.

With that said, I wrote a little poem to try to process and find my way through it.

Hold Steady 
In the storm of chaos
Our true North can get lost
in all the dust.
But once it settles--
and it will--
we’ll rouse from our stillness
test the ground,
take slow steps,
and soldier on.
Because as much as some may pull,
going backward 
was never an option.
We’ll immerse ourselves in stories
connect with our shared humanity
linked by our losses and hopes.
Use our hands to create something
anything 
instead of scrolling.
Let go of the weight of the past year
declutter our self-doubts
cultivate curiosity
become friends with our senses
curate joy in the tiniest moments
plant dreams and 
water them with possibility.
We’ll always punch back 
with sharp laughter,
savor our delicious secrets,
point our toes forward, 
keeping our eyes on what could be,
dance to the music in our heads,
because moving will keep us steady on this shaky ground. 

Navigating all of *gestures wildy* this…is hard. So remember to take breaks. Unplug often. Most importantly, breathe. 

If you can, care for someone else. And don’t forget to care for yourself.

Writing Updates: 
We’re gearing up for a few more events:

1/31: A Special School Visit/Workshop at Lowell Elementary

3/28-3/30: For those who aren’t familiar, Wondercon is like San Diego Comic-Con’s little brother. We’ve officially registered for our badges and will have a table. Yay!

If you don’t have a copy of Three Bee Honey, you can purchase it here on our website. 

Connect with us on our socials:
IG: @st.amantstories
TikTok: @stamantstories 
YouTube: @MisterSaintAmant (Jon's art tutorials)

Recent Reads: A First Time for Everything, by Dan Santat

A coming-of-age graphic novel? Yes, please! The truth is that I got A First Time for Everything for one of my sons, but the story caught my eye. So I dove into the book as soon as I had a chance. 

Santat recounts his first international trip, one he takes with a ton of trepidation…and without his parents. During his trip, he experiences many firsts along with plenty of mistakes and pleasant surprises. Throughout the pages, Santat captures the wonder and angst of becoming a teenager. This was such a relatable story of exploration and discovery, one that reminded me of how valuable it is for young people to travel to other countries. It really alters your perspective on the world and rewires your brain in all the best ways. Clearly, Dan Santat was profoundly changed for the better because of his travels. He reminds all of us that our precious little lives are short: stay open to opportunities for adventure that come our way.  

​Amelie getting a dose of vitamin D. 

Lilo helping me get some work done. 

Sanity Corner:
This past month, we finally decided to invest in raising chickens. We’d always thrown the idea around, but then we’d get busy with life and forget. But not this time, with egg prices being what they are. We thought we’d get our first chicks around February/March, giving us a chance to research. To our surprise, our local pet and feed store notified us that the chicks were ready sooner. So here they are:

(From bottom left clockwise: Suzanne Banana, Doris Donut, Shirley Omelette, and Margie Muffin)

These gals are already growing so fast! While caring for them at this stage is a lot of work, they are super cute and have distinct personalities. For instance, Margie is more shy, and Shirley is the confident leader of the pack. 

​Finn guarding the chicks, trying his best to feign innocence. Take it easy there, pal. 

That’s all for January. Thank you for reading! :) 

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Take care,
Desi

​With that said, here’s a poem that helped me feel more connected to my “why.” It’s not a “professional why” or a “creative why”--it’s more existential than that. Once I read it a few years ago, it stuck with me as a favorite.

“Good Bones” by Maggie Smith. 

Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least
fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative
estimate, though I keep this from my children.
For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.
For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,
sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world
is at least half terrible, and for every kind
stranger, there is one who would break you,
though I keep this from my children. I am trying
to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,
walking you through a real shithole, chirps on
about good bones: This place could be beautiful,
right? You could make this place beautiful.

I have found myself asking, “What kind of world did I bring my kids into?” A world full of hate and fear and suffering and chaos. Yes, it feels bleak at times. Yes, I lay awake at night sometimes wondering how they will navigate through this. 

When I get overwhelmed, my mind goes back to that line: “This place could be beautiful, right? You could make this place beautiful.” 

Smith is right: despite the ugliness we see, there’s still hope. Why? Because we can always discover and nurture what’s beautiful. 

The “good bones” are harder to find these days, but they are still there. Despite the noise, there are many people quietly and tirelessly doing what they can to spread the good. 

It’s up to us to see the good. 

For your viewing pleasure, here is the video. 

 Writing Update:
We’ve completed our Crowdfunder and surpassed our 2nd and final stretch goal. Woohoo! 

You may have noticed that we re-opened the Crowdfundr website. We had to temporarily activate the storefront due to some issues a few supporters had with their transactions. Some transactions (processed with Stripe) labeled the contribution as “TikTok,” which caused confusion for several of our supporters and their banks. Luckily, we were able to get ahead of this and make sure to clarify what happened. 

If you didn’t get a chance to purchase a book, visit our site and get one asap!

Now, Jon is working hard at illustrating the remaining pages. Then it’s time to color. Once that is complete and we check that everything looks good, we’ll send it off to printing! 🥳🥳

Recent Read: Stamped (for Kids), by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi and adapted by Sonja Cherry-Paul

My youngest son read this book, and it captured his attention right away. So much so that he finished it in two days!  It also prompted him to ask big questions, and we talked about what he learned about our country’s history and our current society. I appreciated how the book’s language is accessible and written for a younger audience so that they can wrap their heads around complex ideas. 

When he finished Stamped, he closed it and looked at me with sadness in his eyes, shook by the ugly elements of our history. But he had a newfound determination to share his insights with others--he even asked his teacher to make this book required reading for his class. My hope is that he will continue to stay curious and keep learning. 

Pet Pics: 

The band is back, y’all! 
In truth, this is a rare occurrence. But we’re glad they’re getting more comfortable with each other. Baby steps. 

Sanity Corner:
We discovered this show, and it was so eye-opening. Even our kids were into it. The host visits various locations around the world to learn how people improve their longevity. But it’s not just about living longer. It’s about living better. The people he features, those who’ve reached their 90s and even surpassed 100 years of age have so much wisdom to share. It made me think about my habits and how we as a family can have better balance. If you’re looking for a wholesome and inspiring show, I highly recommend this one! 

Garden Updates: 
Hurricane Hilary--you probably already forgot about her lol--was thankfully pretty weak by the time it hit our area last month, but it still did some damage on our pomegranate tree. We had to tie it with rope to our patio in order to keep it from falling. But the fruit is coming in and still growing, which is good. Once we harvest the pomegranates, we’ll have to prune the tree and add some support. 

This month’s question:
With so many products to choose from, I have to ask: which pumpkin spice products are actually worth the hype? 

Thank you so much for reading! I’ll be in touch again in October. If you have any friends who’d like this newsletter, feel free to share this with them. :) 

​Take care,
Desi

When I was a kid, I always imagined the future would look a lot like the one portrayed in Back to the Future: clean technology in every town, hovering cars buzzing in the sky above, and lots of holograms. 

​What I didn’t envision was a future with droughts, famine, mass extinctions, and rising sea levels. The petty political battles, which have crippled regulatory policies and allowed further desecration of our planet, have been beyond maddening. 

​To be honest, I was starting to lose hope, feeling despair about the future of our planet and of human life as we know it. I tried to push these anxieties out of my mind whenever those thoughts creep in, but at 2 in the morning, it's hard to distract yourself when the existential dread hits. 

What about the kids? I’d wonder. I was scared for what the future has in store for the next generations. It just feels so… unfair. 

Then lo and behold: Congress recently passed the Inflation Reduction Act. Among other investments, it contains measures to fight climate change, the most substantial measures ever in the history of our country.

Now, it's not enough to offset all the damage. It's not perfect, but it's a damn good start and a long overdue one at that. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this bill will set off a chain of action in other nations and that we continue to build off of this momentum. 

​I’m not a lobbyist or a political insider: I’m merely someone who has been desperate for progress. We are finally seeing it, and this movement gives me an optimism I haven't felt for a very long time. 

I’m hopeful that we can still have a healthy planet so that animals and plants can thrive. I’m hopeful that our kids and grandkids to have a good life with enough food and water. 

​So yeah--even though 2022 doesn’t look much like my childhood fantasies, I’ll settle for this humble bit of progress that feeds my sense of hope for our planet: the only home we have.

I’ll leave you with this important reminder by Chief Seattle: “The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth.” 

And if you’re still struggling with existential dread, here is a video that I found very helpful. While we absolutely cannot sit back, wait, or become complacent, we have to remember that we are not alone and many smart and talented people are jumping into the fight to save our planet.

​Wherever you are on the political spectrum, I encourage you to pay attention and push for policies that will keep our planet viable for future generations. 
​
Pet Pics:

Current Read: This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

I read This One Summer a few years ago, but I wanted to re-read it in my effort to research graphic novels for older audiences. It follows the journey of Rose, a tween only child, living in the summer vacation home her family has visited since she was little. But the trip feels different this year. This time, Rose is caught in the storm of her parent’s constant fighting, and she is witness to the heartbreaking drama unfolding in the lives of other young locals. I loved the quiet beauty of the artwork and the minute details that capture the ups and downs of an unforgettable summer: like a close up of seashells or a bike leaning against a fence, for instance. My oldest son, a middle schooler who is reluctant to sit down and read, read this book in two sittings. I think that is a pretty solid endorsement! 

Writing Update: 
I’ve been working on a few different projects, including some freelancing side gigs. I’m also doing some research on the graphic memoir genre and working on some ideas for that. I’m still brainstorming revision ideas for In the Middle of the Sea. There is so much on my plate that it’s hard to devote a ton of time to one project, so I find myself slowly carving away at each one. 

Garden Update: 
It’s apple season time! Our Gala apples are coming in, and they are crisp and sweet. The kids enjoy slices of these apples with their meals. We just have to make sure to nab these before the squirrels get to them first. 

So I’m curious: what gives you hope these days? Do you have any podcasts, books, speeches, poems, songs, or other media that inspires you and keeps you motivated?

That's all for this month. Until next time! :)

Take care,
Desi