The Wheelhouse

19/06/2022

"As I’ve grown older and observed friends enter that stage of their lives, I wanted to have a dedicated conversation with two such dads–two fellow millennials and good friends–about what it means to be a father today."

Happy Father's Day!

https://thewheelhousereview.substack.com/p/leaning-into-fatherhood

18/06/2022

Given the 50th anniversary of , we decided to re-run this piece from the original TWR.

"The story you’re about to read is a real account of my most memorable Fourth of July ever and how it left a nerd-shaped hole in my heart, never to be filled, no matter how many books on the Watergate scandal I may devour."

https://thewheelhousereview.substack.com/p/and-thats-why-you-dont-leave-a-money

08/05/2022

"To say that 'Mother’s Little Helper' is sexist and grossly insensitive is an understatement. It was written 56 years ago by a man who at the time, did not have any children (and if he did, would likely not have been a hands-on dad). It was written by a man who abused drugs, not because he was the stretched-too-thin glue that held together a family, but because of his *challenging* job as a rock star." Juliet Vedral

A snarky and heartwarming Mother's Day reflection.

Happy Mother's Day!

A Mother's Day Reflection

06/05/2022

"Motherhood has taught me that I am not patient, but petty. That my children are not (yet) all that resilient or self-sufficient. That getting them to sleep as babies should have been the least of my concerns. That I am not the kind of person who will put spinach into their brownie mix (more than once)." Stephanie Strickland Phillips

Editor’s note: Don’t worry, we haven’t turned into a mommy-blog. For the next few days we’re going to spotlight essays about motherhood in honor of Mother’s Day. We think you’ll enjoy this funny and insightful piece from Stephanie Phillips, whether you are a parent or just someone in nee...

05/05/2022

"But if I stopped 'predatory reading' my life, stopping searching and hunting for material, what would I do instead?

Did I have the time, energy, and bandwidth to slow down and read the chapter of my life for its own sake, without a set goal in mind, without the pressure to create something dazzling in the end?

I was terrified that if I stopped searching, if I stopped trying so damn hard, my creative self would dissolve into the ocean of monotony."-- Allie Bullivant

A Writer's Take on Motherhood

21/04/2022

"The thing about sanctimony, besides the snuggly warmth of it, is that it only remains operational if the thing you’re being sanctimonious about is a rule that’s easy for you to keep."

Today, Stephanie Strickland Phillips and Juliet Vedral revive their email correspondence to hash out why it's so damn hard not to judge other people.

https://thewheelhousereview.substack.com/p/everyones-a-little-sanctimonious?s=w

In this newsletter we believe...

16/03/2022

'The temptation to want that controlling, domineering power is strong and urgent. I want someone to unilaterally end the famine in Afghanistan, the civil war in Yemen, the invasion of Ukraine, hate crimes and systematic inequities across the U.S., the gun violence in D.C., the recent spate of fatal car accidents in my neighborhood, my plethora of stressors and personal anxieties. All of it can feel so urgent and desperate all the time.

Sometimes though, when I collapse on the couch after a long day, all I can muster in a connection with God is picturing Jesus the Lamb plopping his own weary head on the cushion beside me, a palm to his own face, saying, “I know, man. I know.”'

https://thewheelhousereview.substack.com/p/are-you-stupid-now-were-both-down?s=w

A different way to look at the power of God

02/03/2022

"Parenthood is always Lent with little glimpses of Easter here and there." -- Juliet Vedral


https://thewheelhousereview.substack.com/p/my-whole-life-is-lent?s=w

This Year I'm Giving Up Guilt