Close Friends REVAMPED!

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Hello darling readers,

I just wanted to let you know that I have been emerging out of a funk/vague depression that has lasted a few months now. The reasons for it are quite obvious: standard winter SAD (seasonal affective disorder) combined with the numbness instilled by governmental ambivalence to/endorsement of the genocide plus some general life things that have just been a little bit vexing.

At last.

The good news is that I feel like I’m coming good. I have renewed energy and creative drive, and I’m starting to outline some creative projects including a pitch for a new non-fiction book (!!) AND a re-launch of my podcast. On the latter note, I realised that I was so eager to not lose momentum following the dissolution of my relationship with Nova that I rushed in without a plan or a support team. Consequently, the one thing guaranteed to happen was the loss of momentum.

So this time I’m doing it properly. I’m going to pre-record a season of episodes across two weeks, hire an actually qualified person to do the editing and sound production (jobs I loathe and am frankly not very good at) and ensure a consistent weekly release by having the episodes already done and dusted and ready to go. According to my (now comprehensive and orderly) plan, this relaunch will happen at the start of September. I may even celebrate with some kind of event! But one step at a time, Clem.

As I’ve emerged from this time of malaise, fatigue and vague depression, I’ve realised that what I really need to balance in my life is JOY. I need to do things that are fun and that also make me feel like I’m connecting with people. I’ve abandoned my close friends stories to the weeds in recent months, because I’ve felt guilty any time I’ve gone to post anything on Instagram that’s either silly, light hearted or serious-but-nothing-to-do-with-genocide. And I think that’s been a mistake. I think I’ve severely lost a kind of balance within myself that has made crashing burnout more inevitable.