Is a Journaling Club a Brilliant Way to Make Friends?

Last week, I co-hosted an day gathering to observe Suleika Jaouad’s caller book and came distant with budding friendships and the champion speech starter…

First off, did you ever work Suleika’s 2021 memoir Between Two Kingdoms? At property 22, Suleika was diagnosed with leukemia with a 35% accidental of semipermanent survival. She spent overmuch of the adjacent 4 years successful a infirmary bed. But erstwhile the doctors yet pronounced her “cancer free,” she faced her adjacent challenge: learning however to live.

Now Suleika has written different beauteous publication: The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life. “Journaling saved my beingness during hard times,” she told us, truthful she created a journaling usher with thought-provoking prompts and essays from chap creatives similar her hubby Jon Batiste, Ann Patchett, Jia Tolentino, George Saunders, and galore others.

In my living room, Suleika work an effort from her book, past asked america to each walk 10 minutes penning thing — thing — about our hands. The punctual was truthful circumstantial that everyone instantly had ideas and began scribbling away.

Me, penning astir biting my nails

Before journaling, Suleika told us, she sometimes writes a question to herself. “Elizabeth Gilbert wrote an effort for the book,” she explains. “She has a longstanding practice, wherever she opens her diary entries with ‘Dear Love, what volition you person maine cognize today?’ I person followed her pb and besides taken my ain liberties. So, erstwhile I’m awash successful uncertainty, I constitute ‘What volition you person maine cognize today?’ astatine the apical of the page; past I effort to constitute from immoderate heavy knowing spot of intuition.”

Another punctual was to adjacent our eyes and gully a giraffe. The hardest portion was the spots!

Clare de Boer and Deb Perelman

We laughed astatine our unspeakable results. The workout helped interruption the crystal and punctual america that journaling isn’t astir being perfect.

Amber Tamblyn and Suleika

Finally, Suleika asked america to spell astir the country and stock thing we would enactment connected our “unofficial resume.” For example, she has 3 dogs, and since her hubby thinks 3 is plenty, Suleika present helps friends find their ain perfect dogs.

Nell Diamond, Priya Parker, and Brit Bennett

I loved proceeding people’s concealed talents and passions. Priya Parker, above, told america that she’s a bully matchmaker for radical who privation to get backmost into reading: “I inquire a clump of questions and past prescribe 3 books to statesman with.” As for Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen? “I was a synchronized swimming successful precocious school. It’s a truly hard sport!”

Peyton Dix, Hrishikesh Hirway, and Nell Diamond

Musician Hrishikesh Hirway explained that helium is simply a cocoa spot cooky enthusiast and tin sanction the champion cocoa spot cookies successful immoderate metropolis helium has visited. (His New York winner? Jacques Torres.)

Hitha Palepu, Hunter Harris and Peyton Dix

“My concealed endowment is being a large wedding guest,” said Hunter Harris. “I volition formal for the occasion, I volition instrumentality large societal media pics of the bride and groom, I ever person an other hairsbreadth tie/tampon/Listerine strip/mirror, and I emotion making tiny speech with your random household subordinate oregon co-worker.”

The full day felt truthful magical, successful immense portion due to the fact that Suleika and her book were truthful magical. The publication has specified compelling, funny, and introspective prompts, I consciousness inspired to commencement a journaling nine — you could travel unneurotic to constitute separately astir a shared punctual and past sermon immoderate comes up for you. Would you ever bash that? I’d highly urge this fantastic book for yourself, a gift, anyone who enjoys writing, therapy, staring retired windows, heavy thoughts, the meaning of life, each of it!

Thank you truthful much, Suleika. xoxo

P.S. “Nine beingness lessons I learned aft my crab diagnosis,” five ways to beryllium a amended listener, and what are your halfway values?

(Photos by Ana Murphy.)