Sarah Kendzior’s Newsletter

Articles

I Spent No Kings Day in a Cave

1 week ago | sarahkendzior.substack.com | Sarah Kendzior

There is a salamander so rare, you can find it only in the Ozarks. It is born wide-eyed and willing, eager to explore its surroundings: blue streams, green forests. One day, the salamander wanders into a crack in the earth. This is the most fateful decision it will make. The world darkens, but the salamander keeps going: down, down, down, until no light remains. Over time, its skin begins to mutate. A film grows over its eyelids and fuses them shut. The salamander is now blind. But it does not know.
Fake Feuds, Real Crises: Your Questions Answered

2 weeks ago | sarahkendzior.substack.com | Sarah Kendzior

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughtful questions! I answered most and tried to address the main points of those I didn’t include. I focused on topics that came up most often so look for the theme of your question even if you don’t see your name. I do these Q & As once a month. If you’d like to submit a question, become a paying subscriber. You can do that here:I am very grateful for your support! I am also exhausted and trying to stay strong for the weekend.
Just Answering Questions: Flag Day Fascism

2 weeks ago | sarahkendzior.substack.com | Sarah Kendzior

Hello subscribers (and future subscribers!) Between the real-life Escape from LA sequel, the “Flag Day” fascist festivities, and fake feuds between sociopaths, this week has that sickening feeling I usually associate with elections, so I figured it was time for a Q & A. Got a question? Ask away! I hope to post my answers before the weekend. For those new to this feature, here’s how it works:1) To ask a question, join as a paying subscriber, and post your question in the comments section below.
Searching for Bobbie Gentry

3 weeks ago | sarahkendzior.substack.com | Sarah Kendzior

It was the 30th of December, and I was driving the Natchez Trace Parkway, looking for Bobbie Gentry. I didn’t want to find her. I only wanted to know she was out there, eluding everyone. I wanted her to outwit every man who did her wrong. Many are dead: Bobbie Gentry is in her 80s. She hasn’t appeared on stage since 1981, when, after a series of music industry disputes, she left public life behind with a steadfastness unrivaled.
The Lost Vortex

1 month ago | sarahkendzior.substack.com | Sarah Kendzior

Three years have passed since I contemplated writing this story. I kept changing my mind. What’s the point of a story in which nothing happens, and no answer is found? Then again: does anything sum up the middle of 2022 better than that? In November 2016, the weekend before the election, I took my children to southern Illinois on what I came to call “the last good day.” They were five and nine. We drove three hours and back from St. Louis to show them the southlands of our neighboring state.
Tornado Daze

1 month ago | sarahkendzior.substack.com | Sarah Kendzior

At a lake near my house there is a heron I call my therapist. I hadn’t seen him since October: seven months weighted with the ache of a century. Too much happened and too little changed. I wish current political horrors felt unrecognizable, but it’s like watching a reboot of a movie no one wanted the first time. Familiar in the worst ways, leaving me longing for what’s familiar in the best ways. From a distance, I questioned if it was really him. There are a lot of herons in St. Louis.
Your Questions Answered: White House vs Road House

1 month ago | sarahkendzior.substack.com | Sarah Kendzior

Thank you, subscribers, for your thoughtful questions! I answered most and tried to address the main points of those I didn’t list. I apologize that I ran out of space!I do these Q & As once a month. If you’d like to submit a question, become a paying subscriber. You can do that here:Sarah Kendzior’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Paying subscriptions are particularly appreciated right now.
Just Answering Questions: I’m Back!

1 month ago | sarahkendzior.substack.com | Sarah Kendzior

I am back from a one-month, nine-city book tour for The Last American Road Trip — and I’m still hungry for questions! Welcome to the return of the monthly Q & A. We’ve got some catching up to do, but first, a few announcements:1) My 2022 book They Knew is on sale for $2.99 as an ebook. This sale won’t last, so buy it at one of the vendors linked here! And read about They Knew — an exploration of real conspiracies and how the term “conspiracy theory” is weaponized to negate critical inquiry — here.
The Spooklight

1 month ago | sarahkendzior.substack.com | Sarah Kendzior

I am standing on the Devil’s Promenade, waiting to see the light. Folks have been flocking to this rural road since the early 20th century, when the apparition was first publicized. The Devil’s Promenade — also known as East 50 Road — borders Hornet, Missouri, so named because Route 66 commerce once made it buzz with activity. Now Hornet is a ghost town, and its ghost is the central attraction. They call it the Spooklight.
Tiding You Over

2 months ago | sarahkendzior.substack.com | Sarah Kendzior

As fellow St. Louisan T.S. Eliot said, “April is the cruelest month.” But April is also the coolest month: The Last American Road Trip is a national bestseller!This happened for one reason: you! Thanks to word-of-mouth praise, my new book gained traction. I now have written a bestseller in the worst economy since 1932, topping my prior feat of writing a bestseller in the opening salvo of a global plague. These are strange times. Nothing lasts, but nothing ends either. It is surreal to be on tour.