Breakfast with Gayle! What a complete honor—and an absolute-bucket list thrill I had early on Tuesday at CBS Mornings. I was blown away by the generosity of Gayle King, Norah O’Donnell, and Nate Burleson. They had all read A TIME TO GATHER, came with pull quotes and questions, and were open to embracing the spirit of the ritual renaissance.
Gayle especially kept running into the green room during breaks, carrying her dog-eared copy of my book, reading me quotes of me. “You’re such a great writer!” Wow.
Thank you for honoring me with the experience of a lifetime! You can watch the full interview below:
In other news, I was blown away to wake up on Saturday morning to find that my NYT Opinion Essay, “This is the Antidote to the Lonely life of Screens,” was THE #1 MOST EMAILED ARTICLE in the NYT! Again, wow. Thank you all for reading, sharing, and commenting on this piece about how Americans are pushing back against hate and division with an outpouring of new rituals that allow us to connect and make meaning together!
A few years ago, after my wife and I dropped our twin daughters at college, I walked through our front door and felt homesick in my own home. It wasn’t just the absence of my children: All my relationships felt asunder. I had recently lost my dad and was losing my mom; my marriage needed to be renegotiated, my friendships remade.
All around me, people were leaving relationships, losing jobs, Googling strange, unknown diseases, feeling guilty that we’d abdicated our loved ones for our phones. Everyone was experiencing a kind of existential homesickness.
I needed something to anchor me and went looking for solutions. What I found was a startling story hiding in plain sight: the renaissance of ritual.
A generation into the loneliness epidemic, Americans are devising astonishing new ways to gather in real life. Fed up with isolation, polarization and digital saturation, people are flocking to rituals — collective, elective activities that bring us together for recurring shared purpose. Eager participants are reimagining how to mark life, love, health and family — and forging thriving communities in the process.
This groundswell of collective meaning making may be our best shot to counter the divisive algorithms and artificial intimacies of Big Tech. And every person, regardless of background, can join in.
You can read the entire article here.
Order Your Copy of A TIME TO GATHER!
Jessi Hempel is a national treasure—and the most gracious of podcast hosts. (You can follow her great Substack here!) I was honored to return to Hello Monday at LinkedIn to discuss how the global groundswell of gatherings is finally making a dent into loneliness.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
— why ritual works neurologically and emotionally
— how rituals create belonging during periods of transition
— the three-part structure behind meaningful gatherings
— how to create small rituals at work, at home, or with friends
You'll also learn how to create gathering you'll love this summer, as we plan a milestone birthday gathering for Jessi's daughter!
Finally, see me on tour starting next Tuesday in New York! Links below for details.
Tuesday, May 26, 7PM. Conversation with bestselling author Adriana Trigiani at Barnes & Noble UWS. Info here.
Wednesday, May 27, 6:30-7:30PM. Main Point Books in Wayne, PA. Info here.
Thursday, May 28, 6PM. Barnes & Noble Philadelphia. Info here.
Tuesday, June 9, 7PM. Sidney Isenberg Lecture Series of the Atlanta History Center. Info here.
Thursday, June 11, 6:30-8:30PM. E. Shaver Booksellers in Savannah, GA, Starland location. Info here.
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Thank you for reading The Nonlinear Life. This is a reader-supported newsletter. You can support my work by ordering a copy of A Time to Gather or any of my other books. Click on the photo below to learn more.
Meanwhile, help us grow our community by subscribing, sharing, and commenting below. And you might enjoy reading these posts:
How Rituals Can Save Your Family — and the First Review of A TIME TO GATHER!
The Stories That Bind Us: My Most Popular Piece Ever
A Sudden Loss, A Missed Goodbye, A Lesson on How to Gather in Crisis
Or, you can contact me directly.
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