Hello my friends! And welcome to another installment of Trans Joy Thursday*, where I forget the days of the week, only to realize I missed Thursday entirely. My sincerest apologies! With that being said, Onward!

This week is my long week at work (I work a 2,2,3 schedule - while that does mean I have my entire year planned out work-wise, every other week is a "long week to work" and those are exhausting.) This means, very little time to play, BUT it does mean that I have to create pockets of joy in the downtime.

I have diagnosed inattentive ADHD, so I tend to hyperfocus on one thing, or several things, at a time, lose interest, move on to the next, times infinite. I have been currently working on a personal curriculum for the rest of this year and for all of next year - I attempted to make one for this year, but it was TOO MUCH. So, for next year, I narrowed it down to easier themes and broke down the books to read by chapters for each day when applicable. I will share more if you are interested (let me know in the comments), but creating this, as a lifelong learner, has definitely brought me massive amounts of trans joy this week!

I have also secured our Beyond The Rainbow chats with Dr. Kiki Fehling AND Anita Kelly for next month! I am so incredibly stoked for these two chats. Catch the flyers on socials soon, and here for the zoom info!

ALSO, in relation to my own trans joy - my wife began her LAST FIRST day of nursing school Monday! She graduates in December, already has a job lined up, and is just cruising right along. To say I'm beyond proud is an understatement!

In other, therapeutically aligned news, this is my first week without therapy (grief or regular) since my Memaw passed in June. (Not by choice, it just happened that way - I will resume next week). And honestly? For the most part? I'm okay. I'm doing it. I'm focusing on what needs to be done around the house and for work, distracting myself with books, and doing all the self-care I can.

One big shout-out that I missed yesterday - it was National Latina* Day! I hope all of you who are Latinx always feel supported, welcomed, included and loved in not only this space, but every room you walk into. You are deserving and worthy of celebrating. Never forget that.

Before I wrap up, if you are a paid subscriber I have exclusive news dropping NEXT Thursday (8/27) that you will not want to miss. Stay tuned.

I will leave you all with my favorite quote to round the week as we head into the weekend:

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that's all." - Oscar Wilde

My wish, and hope, for all of you, is that you truly live this weekend - in the hustle and bustle of every day life, may you take a small moment and spend it in gratitude - however that looks for you.

See you Sunday for Trans History Month, Volume 3.

With all my trans joy,

Sawyer Cole

I know this book is very well-loved, so I'll tread lightly...

But I didn't love it. Dare I say, it almost turned into a hate read.

I joined an in-person book club here in the DMV, and this was our July pick. I was actually excited because I'd bought this book over a year ago and had been meaning to read it forever.

Unfortunately... it just didn't work for me.

My biggest issue was the pacing.

The beginning? Great.

The ending? Great.

The 150-200 pages in the middle?

Basura. No Cap.

Without giving too much away, the main characters first build a connection through emails. Then, when they finally meet in person, it felt like the author had to start their relationship all over again. I understood why, but it made the middle of the book drag.

It was cute.

It was sweet.

But it was slowwwww.

The tension just wasn't there for me either.

Now, I will say there were things I appreciated. I liked the almost reverse dynamic where the male lead was the more insecure and emotionally vulnerable one. That felt refreshing. And I liked both main characters, they seemed like people I'd actually want to be friends with in real life.

But I needed more yearning.

The characters would tell us they found each other attractive or that they wanted to be together, but I never felt it. I wasn't kicking my feet. I wasn't stressed. I wasn't rooting for them every time they were apart.

It just never hit my spirit. IYKYK.

I ended up giving it 3 stars.

Part of that is because I genuinely think the book had potential. I kept wishing an editor had stepped in and tightened the middle section. I wanted more emotional tension, more angst, and more moments that made me ache for these characters to get together.

Now, here's where I'm curious to hear from y'all...

Have you read The Neighbor Favor? Did you love it? Hate it? Feel somewhere in the middle? And don't worry, I promise I won't be offended if you completely disagree with me. Like truly!

Also... can we talk about my book club for a second?

I came in with notes, discussion questions, and all my little talking points ready to go...

And somehow we barely talked about the book. I was irked.

Instead, we spent most of the evening talking about dating, cults, hobbies, and life in general.

Still enjoyed myself though lol.