My Sweet Dumb Brain

1 month ago | mysweetdumbbrain.substack.com | Katie Hawkins-Gaar |Gray Chapman |Jessica Valenti |Caitlin Dewey

As I approach 40, I’m embarking on a year-long project to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned in four decades of life. This is lesson #34. You can read the full series here. Saturday morning, still groggy from a bad-news hangover — this time from watching maddening footage of President Trump and Vice President Vance berating Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office — I started a garden in my backyard. First, my daughter and I fitted together the boards to form a raised bed.

2 months ago | mysweetdumbbrain.substack.com | Katie Hawkins-Gaar |Anne Petersen

As I approach 40, I’m embarking on a year-long project to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned in four decades of life. This is lesson #31. You can read the full series here. Nearly every conversation I’ve had lately has been with someone who, in some way or another, is floundering. I’ve talked to friends who are scared, coworkers who are distracted, relatives who are anxious, and neighbors who are having trouble processing it all. If I ever needed proof that I live in a bubble, this is it.

Nov 19, 2024 | mysweetdumbbrain.substack.com | Katie Hawkins-Gaar |Carlos Greaves

As I approach 40, I’m embarking on a year-long project to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned in four decades of life. This is lesson #23. You can read the full series here. I live in an eclectic neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, a mix of residences of all different sizes and styles. There are big, new constructions, towering townhouses, and smaller, older homes. Ours belongs to the latter category.

Sep 17, 2024 | mysweetdumbbrain.substack.com | Katie Hawkins-Gaar |Maggie Smith

As I approach 40, I’m embarking on a year-long project to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned in four decades of life. This is lesson #16. You can read the full series here. Fall doesn’t exist in Florida. This was something I should have known, but was still disappointed to discover when I moved to the country’s southernmost state. In hot, humid, muggy Florida, fall feels like nothing more than an extension of summer. There are no leaves that change color, no apple orchards to visit.

Sep 3, 2024 | mysweetdumbbrain.substack.com | Katie Hawkins-Gaar |Suleika Jaouad

As I approach 40, I’m embarking on a year-long project to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned in four decades of life. This is lesson #14. You can read the full series here. Exactly one month and four days after my husband Jamie died, I traveled to New Orleans with two of my closest friends. We had planned the vacation, then as a foursome, to commemorate the day when Jamie, John, Josie, and I first met and became fast friends.