Little Things To Inspire You This Week & Greece Retreat Feedback
#19: An endless summer.
Happy August!
You can skip directly to this week’s recommendations here.
I typically start new months disgusted by time’s rude insistence on propelling us forward way too quickly, but August came without that familiar anxiety. Instead, I feel I’ve had an infinite summer, perhaps due to the record heat that drags out each day, or perhaps it’s the ongoing WGA & SAG strikes (that may finally be heading towards an end?), or maybe it’s because my Greece retreat already feels like a lifetime ago. Whatever it is, I’m grateful for another summer month and hope you are too.
One of the great joys in my life is hosting writing & Yoga retreats around the world. Consider it my IRL commitment to building a community around creativity and well-being! My last one was this past June in Greece, and it was an absolute delight. A group of 17 creatives (plus me and our Yoga instructor) came together at a retreat center and organic farm on the island of Paros for a week of true creative magic: We wrote, pitched on each other’s ideas, befriended other writers, swam in the ocean, ate incredible, organic Mediterranean food, journaled, explored Greece, and practiced Yoga and meditation. Participants ranged from novelists and memoirists to TV and film writers to stand-up comedians to poets. It felt as though each person was destined to be there and to contribute to the energy of this magnetic, fun, hilarious group.
Nothing is more validating than a participant choosing to leave a testimonial. It means not only did they have a positive, meaningful experience, but they’re also willing to take the time to express it publicly to encourage others to sign up in the future. They’re giving the program their stamp of approval. Each testimonial means so much to me, and I wanted to share a few with you, too. Hopefully, they’ll give you a sense of what these retreats are all about!
“I felt so incredibly cared for on this retreat! Everything was thoughtfully taken care of, so that we were free to focus on making connections, working on our writing, or going on spontaneous wanderings (for which Ali ALSO supported logistics and planning). The retreat location was amazing, the people were friendly, and the conversation about craft inspiring. 5/5.” — Ann
“Ali's write and flow retreat was a beautiful opportunity to step outside of ordinary life and reconnect with the idea of being an artist so that you could leave with a refreshed perspective on home, routine, writing, and the daily practices that make an artistic life feasible. She was so generous with her time, energy, and skill, helping everyone feel comfortable to share, and to develop their ideas in just over a week.
The location was gorgeous, the yoga was approachable and fun, and the people attracted to the retreat were hilarious, kind, and talented. You will be in good hands at one of Ali's retreats.” — Aimée
“This retreat was everything I needed to feel confident as a writer and person again. And much of that had to do with Ali being a great leader! (Daily dips in the ocean didn't hurt either.) She started the retreat with a willingness to be vulnerable herself, which made it easier for the rest of us to be open with each other and in our writing. Also, I appreciate the importance placed on good food! I really hope I can attend the next one.” — Neha
“It was such an amazing thing to experience the beautiful and supportive container that Ali created with Write & Flow, with the incredibly kind and talented community of writers she brought together for our retreat.
Writing all week long, whether it was morning journaling time with all-too-resonant prompts, during workshops, or through helpful 1-on-1 feedback; unfolding into yoga in new and deeper and more playful ways; and experiencing the joys of Grecian island time was SO special. On multiple levels. Not to mention the healing power of the salty and crystalline Mediterranean Sea via our own private beach steps away from the resort!
I am still integrating the lessons and sparkling new ideas I took away from the week in Paros and I know I’ll be doing so for some time. Feeling so thankful for it all, and will be keeping these memories close to heart!” — Kimia
Thank you so much to all the participants on the Greece retreat, so many of whom have their own brilliant Substacks. I hope to see many more readers and writers on future retreats!
Here’s what I’m consuming.
Summer reading:
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. Oh, how I love an unhinged, unreliable narrator! This book, told from the perspective of a woman plagiarizing a dead friend’s unpublished manuscript, is such a fun, fast read, and the audiobook is excellent. A great performance you won’t want to turn off.
I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai. This book about a podcaster investigating a murder that took place at her High School 20 years earlier is beautifully written and so engaging. You’re never ahead of the story, and it is so smart that it moves beyond a fun thriller and into a literary triumph.
Letters To A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. I’m going through a Rilke phase this year, and if you haven’t read this yet, you simply must. The audiobook is a lovely way to consume this. It’s a short and stunning collection of advice Rilke wrote to an aspiring poet. He expounds wisdom on creativity, writing, solitude, love, and marriage. It’s filled with so many quotes I want forever imprinted in my brain. Here is one of them:
“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present, you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.”
Online reading recommendations:
New fiction short stories from Jhumpa Lahiri and Ottessa Moshfegh!
A new essay from Zadie Smith!
Patricia Lockwood on David Foster Wallace!
Quick links:
Listening:
For anybody grappling with whether or not to have kids,
did a great series of podcasts on pregnancy. It’s paywalled, but even the free preview portions are interesting and worthwhile.
Watching:
Watch the wonderful short film “Rachels Don’t Run” via the New Yorker
Yes, I saw Barbie like the rest of the world. The story was good, the tone is weird and refreshing, and visually it is spectacular. If you haven’t seen it yet, try to mute the hype and go into it with no expectations. Oppenheimer is up next for me.
What are you watching and reading? Share your own recommendations in the comments!
Read more about the power of retreating here:
The Artistic Desire To Be Taken Care Of
Just over a week ago, I finished hosting my third writing and Yoga retreat, this time in Paros, Greece, with 17 inspiring, adventurous, kind, hardworking creatives. (It was absolutely lovely and I’m still processing much of what I learned as a human, a Yogi, and as a leader).
These testimonials are awesome! What a gift to lead a group of like minded creatives and create energy together in real life!
The retreat looked amazing! I’m listening to Yellowface on audio now and it’s so great.