Blending Friendship and Work
My co-president and co-author, Elise, came to visit last weekend (actually the first time we’d met in person, believe it or not!). It was a quick but wonderful weekend full of working on Catholic Women in Business planning and book-writing—but also full of conversations. I’m grateful that Elise welcomed me onto the CWIB team four years ago and then, a few year later, welcomed me as her business partner. It’s such a joy to work with a friend. And I can’t wait for you to read our book! The draft is almost finished; please pray for us as we reach our manuscript deadline (Jan. 4) and get into the editing process! You can sign up for updates at bit.ly/delonggallagherbook.
Here’s what else I’ve been up to lately:
Publishing a piece on estrogen and the brain at Natural Womanhood.
Releasing a great interview for Catholic Women Lead with Emily Richett, founder of an exciting new doll company for Christian girls. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Publishing two Gospel reflections for CatholicMom.com: one on Luke 14:25-33 (Nov. 8) and one on Luke 16:9-15 (Nov. 11).
Loving this sweatshirt inspired by St. Thérèse from Telos Art Shop. You can get 10% off your order by using TARYN10. (But do it quickly—they’re almost out!)
I’m having my second endometriosis excision surgery a week after Thanksgiving, and I’m hoping that it will be more permanent this time. Prayers are appreciated! I’m very fortunate to live near(ish) a NaPro gynecologist who is also trained in excision surgery—they aren’t common!
Recent Content I’ve Loved
I absolutely loved this Old Books With Grace podcast (hosted by
) about Little Women (my favorite book from childhood) with Dr. LuElla D'Amico, a Catholic professor who specializes in American girls’ literature. I so wish I could take a class with her! It would be fascinating and so fun.Did you know that Sts. Louis and Zélie (parents of St. Thérèse) wore brown scapulars—and that they were found to be incorrupt (the scapulars, not the saints)? I didn’t, despite having read several books about them. You can read more about it in this Catholic Exchange article by Patrick O’Hearn.
I loved, loved, loved seeing this article in Time—acknowledging that ambitious, talented women might want to downshift their career or take a break in order to spend more time with family. Too often, these major publications assume that women are “forced” out of the workforce. While that’s true for some (and a problem!), I so appreciate the work that Neha Ruch (who’s interviewed for this article) is doing at Mother Untitled to change that narrative. (I do have a serious problem with the last question the interview asked Ms. Ruch about “luring” women back to the workforce, but overall, the interview was great.)
Books I Liked
I checked out Reese Witherspoon’s new Busy Betty book (Busy Betty and the Circus Surprise) from our library, and my husband, daughter, and I enjoyed it a lot. We may need to purchase the series for our home library. In some ways, Betty reminds me of me.
I read Strange Situation: A Mother’s Journey Into the Science of Attachment, by Bethany Saltman, in two sittings. It was an enjoyable, thought-provoking story and look at what attachment theory really means (not what the latest Instagram influencer says it means). Ms. Saltman and I differ in aspects of our worldview (she’s Buddhist), but I appreciated the way she approached writing about motherhood and learned a lot. (Stay tuned … I want to write something about how Mary Ainsworth demonstrated spiritual motherhood.)
To my fellow Americans, have a happy Thanksgiving next week!