Another year in threes
my faves of 2025
Hi my fried eggy friends and happy year-end. I am trudging through this dark, rainy, heavy season by reveling in whatever little joys I can find—filling out a big giant crossword puzzle a little at a time, a carefully thought out Christmas gift, prosciutto on pesto pasta. Here are the things I loved in 2025. And here is last year’s, if you’re curious.
P.S. This is too long to fit in the email so read online/in the app for the full experience <3
Lie With Me, Philippe Besson
(GORGEOUS AND DEVASTATING)
“I cannot stand the idea that he could be taken from me. That I could lose him. I discover for the first time—poor idiot—this stabbing pain of love. (And when you’ve been hurt once, you’re afraid to try again later, in dread of enduring the same pain. You avoid getting hurt in an attempt to avoid suffering: for years, this principle will serve as my holy sacrament. So many lost years.)”
Daughter, Claudia Dey
(incredible writing. fun fact, this was what inspired my little short fiction Pigeons)
“Paul talked about writing as being in conversation with God, when it was working, Paul said, he was in conversation with God, when it was working, it was rapture.”
How To Stand Up To A Dictator, Maria Ressa
(transformative, educational, TOOOO timely, listened on audio & her voice reminded me of my lola)
“Staying silent or compliant changed nothing. Speaking up was an act of creation.”
May 16 - YOU HAVE COME THIS FAR AND ARE YET UNFINISHED. HOW COULD THAT EVER BE BORING? HOW COULD THAT EVER GROW OLD?
July 11 - I am surrounded by beacons of the past, reminders of who I used to be and for once I do not feel forlorn, or embarrassed, or hollow.
October 10 - I do not need to travel for hours to find something wondrous, this I learned on my walk. Kindness carries far, drifts through the air and lives on trees, in front yards, in pavement cracks.
Bloodless - Samia (sam)
I have said before that she is the greatest songwriter of our generation and I will say it a thousand times over.
Bovine Excision was my top song this year, North Poles is so good I can’t put it in words
Good Story - Eliza McLamb (eliza mclamb)
Introspective, heartfelt, down-to-earth-like lyrics that cut deep.
What Inside The Fence is my headspace rn, Every Year has my whole heart and soul
Swimming Through The Sand - Rachel Bobbitt (ig)
A beautiful debut album and a new artist for me this year—has soundtracked my autumn.
Introduced via the single Furthest Limb, fell in love via Remember?
Sorry, Baby - I’m realizing so many of these seeped into my creative work this year! Inspired & spoken about in my year of doing scary things. God, it’s so good. None of these trios are ranked but this one is number one.
Die My Love - I loooooove when a girl gets to be crazy. Especially Jennifer Lawrence, felt like this was written just for her. Loved it when she did No Hard Feelings (2023) and loved it again here. 3 people walked out of the theater but I think they are the crazy ones. I’m utterly obsessed.
One Battle After Another - Inarguably good. Again, very timely. Makes me feel like we’ll see a revolution in our lifetime.
My half-birthday—We didn’t plan it that way but my sister and I went to see The Army, The Navy in concert that night. It was when the evenings were still sunny so we took selfies and looked so much alike. We ate spicy dumplings and Vietnamese fried chicken drenched in fish sauce two blocks from the venue, so good we licked our fingers, then we walked that stretch of city three or four times because the dragonfly charm came off of my necklace. We found it before the opener even came on and waited in the blue neon light, expectant. When the concert started it felt like we had risen to see the angels or were being lured to our death—either way we would have gone willingly. We made a heart with our arms as they left the stage; one of them pointed at us and said, “I love this,” and we squealed like we had met the queen.
The last weekend of April—I saw my long distance best friend and had sweet coffees, lazy days, and an overpriced flight of lunchtime margaritas. I played with her cat who leapt three feet in the air chasing the toy. We met up with an online friend I had never seen in person and went with him to feed the farm animals at his work. We saw day-old baby goats who talked like they already knew everything about the world and walked up to the cows in the field as the sun set. When we got back we watched Ponyo and made everything they eat in the movie along with cocktails that turned blue. A ham sandwich had never been better. I had to go back and it was too soon, too soon. Never enough time.
The first week of September—Time off in central Oregon, time to finally not work. Floated down the river on the last day of the season, fingers grazing the cool water. Tilted my head back to feel the sun that I knew was not long for the world. Stood up on a paddleboard and swerved through the browning reeds, laid back once and contemplated taking a nap. On the drive back we found a different lake, still beautiful and blue, and a frog the size of my fingerprint sitting on a piece of driftwood along the shore. We went to the alpaca farm and fed them right out of our hands, endeared by their buck teeth and a little unnerved by the feel of their tongues on our palms. We saw porcupines and river otters and a bobcat that laid down with his tummy out just like our cats do at home. We had ricotta on pizza and a giant pretzel and marionberry cocktails with the sugared rim. It was nature and good food and good rest.
Here’s to another year of getting better,
Helena
OMG, I found Samia this year! I heard the North Pole's first and, ofc, had to listen to the whole album. My other faves are bovine excision and lizard! Her voice is insane, and her songwriting is unsettling, but in a good way.
Glad to see "Die, My Love" mentioned. Haven't seen it yet but JLaw is electrifying when she gets to play unhinged so I know I will dig it a lot.