I don't have a gallbladder anymore

(and a question for you)

Hi, I’m Haley! Book midwife (editor) and author. Hello to new subscribers and welcome all to another edition of This Week’s Miscellany. TWM is full of my favorite things from around the web, typically trending literary.

This email is free for you to read, but took time and energy to create. Consider upgrading to a paid subscription to support this work and gain access to exclusive content:

I had abdominal surgery last Thursday and these are the things that have brought me joy since then:

• My weighted blanket

• The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (highly recommend a middle grade novel when recovering from general anesthesia)

• My favorite sweatshirts (My Pride & Prejudice and My Fair Lady sweatshirts)

• Eating sleeves of Ritz crackers

• Binging TV shows

I really appreciate all the prayers and well wishes for my surgery. Everything went very well and I don’t have a gallbladder (or gallstones) anymore. The medical staff was wonderful, Daniel kept me company before and after the procedure, and I was able to go home just a few hours after it was over.

I had never been under general anesthesia before so that was a new experience. At this point I’m just still very tired but I don’t need my pain meds anymore. I can even take a short walk around the neighborhood (but can’t yet handle walking our huge dog who is very bad on the leash).

Friends have helped drive the kids around and have brought meals over and I feel very loved and taken care of. I’m relieved to have the surgery behind me and just very grateful! I even jumped back into work yesterday (although my “office” is having my laptop on my bed with all my comfy-est pillows).

---

For obvious reasons, I haven’t been gathering the weekly collection of articles, podcasts, etc like I usually do for you. Hoping to be back in the saddle with this Substack in a week or two. Thank you for your patience!

---

Do you want a signed copy of my new book?

I opened up orders to paid subscribers a couple a few weeks ago for signed copies of the collection of essays on Catholic women novelists that I edited for Word on Fire (officially releasing in June). But I have a few copies left and am happy to open up orders of signed copies to everybody!

The collection covers novelists like Josephine Ward from the 19th century to Alice McDermott in the 21st, some well-known writers like O’Connor and some almost forgotten like Caroline Gordon. And in addition to bringing lesser-known Catholic women into the spotlight, it also considers the Catholic faith of celebrated authors like Toni Morrison and Donna Tartt.

And just check out the contributors! Some of my favorite scholars and writers agreed to be part of this project and I’m still pinching myself:

• Eleanor Bourg Nicholson on Josephine Ward

• Amy Fahey on Sigrid Undset

• Julia Meszaros on Caryll Houselander

• Helena M. Tomko on Gertrud von le Fort

• Angela Alaimo O’Donnell on Flannery O’Connor

• Joshua Hren on Caroline Gordon

• Katy Carl on Rumer Godden

• Bonnie Lander Johnson on Alice Thomas Ellis

• Dorian Speed on Muriel Spark

• Nick Ripatrazone on Toni Morrison

• Paul J. Contino on Alice McDermott

• Jennifer Frey on Donna Tartt

And then to top it all off, a conclusion by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera, bestselling Catholic novelist known for The Awakening of Miss Prim. I had the privilege of writing the introduction and editing the collection and I’m so proud of the final product. My prayer is that it will inspire many people to dive in to the writing of these incredible novelists and bring their vibrant Catholic imagination into the conversation.

You can order signed copies of this book (and any of my other books) here and I’ll mail them out in early May. But orders close on Friday at noon!

Time is running out to join us this summer!

On the fence about coming to Belgium and Germany with Fr. Harrison Ayre and my husband Daniel and I this summer? Now’s the time to sign up! 🇧🇪 🇩🇪

If you’re looking for a small group to travel with, daily Mass, beautiful cathedrals and abbeys, and the best Trappist breweries in the world, join us! We have 6 spots left before we close the trip at 30 people. And time is running out to reserve your spot!
⛪️ 🍻

We’ll see the stunning Ghent Altarpiece (The Mystic Lamb), go on a canal boat tour of Bruges, pray at the Flanders Field American Cemetery, visit the crypt of St Damian Molokai, go to gorgeous Belgian abbeys (and taste the beer from their breweries), see cathedrals in Germany (Aachen and Cologne), and more!

We’ve been anticipating this trip for two years and I can’t believe it’s just around the corner. Half of the pilgrims on our whisky pilgrimage in Scotland in 2022 are coming back for Belgium which just goes to show you that the experience of traveling with Select International Tours is something special. I can’t wait to see them and meet new friends and this year we’re even bringing our teenager for his first overseas trip.

You can check out the registration page: Heavenly Hops Pilgrimage with Fr. Harrison Ayre to Belgium and Germany.

And below you can view the full itinerary (except one update is that we’ll be flying home from Frankfurt rather than Cologne):

---

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! And a huge thank you to all those who upgraded to a paid subscription this week. This is a reader-supported newsletter so if you enjoy getting these emails, please consider supporting this Substack by upgrading to a paid subscription with the button below.

Thanks for reading!

Haley

(Editor of Word on Fire Votive, Author, Podcaster)

Haley’s books

Haley’s Children’s Mystery Series about Mouse Nuns

Haley’s Book on Jane Austen’s Novels

Haley’s Book about Radical Simplicity