Cruel Compendium #85 🤲🏼
Surviving autocracy, cultivating community, and carrying the world
It’s been a really heavy week for me. The weight of grief — for my brother, for my country — has had me in a chokehold. Hope you’re doing okay, and that you find some comfort and community in this week’s links.
Last week, I wrote about attending Alanon to release control, and some mantras that have been getting me through lately: Let them. Practice accepting what you cannot change. Remember that that has nothing to do with you.
Be sure to click “View entire message” at the end of this email so you can read the whole post in your browser. On to the links!
The video that raised $800K in donations by
An informative chat with Brittany Cabriales, Associate Director of Brand Marketing at GoFundMe. Here is their list of verified fundraisers for those affected by the LA fires.
Ten practical things to do to prepare for the Trump presidency by
A checklist for your freelance business under autocracy by
How to be organized in 2025 by
Texas libraries are engines of optimism by Elizabeth McCracken
Why Samuel dances to George Michael’s “Father Figure” in Babygirl by Chris O’Falt
I wanted to know so badly why this song was chosen — and now I do!
Books lately
My first three books of 2025:
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. My first Rooney book. Loved hearing the complex interior worlds of the different characters, but ultimately, not much happens!
James by Percival Everett. A satirical retelling of Huckleberry Finn, told from the enslaved Jim’s POV. Everett perfectly straddles the line between humor and horror.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. An engrossing read that follows 100 years of the lives of tight-knit Korean family members, from before WWII to the early ‘90s. So much tragedy mixed with enduring love and devotion, and the excruciating sacrifices women made in the very near past. Also taught me how people of Korean ascent have been discriminated against and forced to register as foreigners in Japan, even when their families have lived there for generations (relevant in relation to Trump trying to end birthright citizenship in the United States).
Now, I’m re-reading Wintering by Katherine May, a book I adored, because I am having a serious winter.
Bits and bobs about freelance writing.
My newest for Tribeza: Sunset Blvd. producer Hunter Regian ushers Texas talent to Broadway
Regian is a hoot and I love how this one turned out!
Jen A. Miller’s breakdown of her $124K freelance year
100 quotes that helped me write by
Pitch template. Copy and fill in the blanks.
Free contract creator from The Freelancers’ Union. Super useful!
On writing “get me” content from
Causes I care about and actions for change.
Red cards you can print out so people know their rights if ICE comes knocking. Available in many languages.
More resources on knowing your rights and what to do if you spot ICE.
LA fire relief actions:
Displaced Latine families mutual aid directory
GoFundMe campaigns supporting journalists
Watch the stories of those who lost their homes and donate at Big Talk
Where I’ve donated lately:
Help Omar’s family evacuate Palestine
I’ve been speaking with Omar on Instagram, and he says this is an expensive time since his family is trying to travel back north during the ceasefire.
Gaza Soup Kitchen — serving hot meals in North Gaza
It is our turn to carry the world by adrienne maree brown
we are each other’s safety
right now, and every day
decide who you will protect
yourself, your own and who else
it’s time to cover all that we love
land, creature, place, person
intertwine your roots with mine
in this way our lives become miracles
🎭 The movie Sing Sing has been big on my mind lately — go see it if you can! I’m delighted that Coleman Domingo is nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, and his magnificent costar Clarence Maclin was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Maclin served 15 years at Sing Sing prison, during which he got involved with Rehabilitation Through the Arts, the drama program the film is based on. The film also stars several formerly incarcerated men playing themselves, and their performances are incredible. Plus, the film followed a pay equity model in which everyone who worked on the film had an ownership stake.
🇮🇪 I loved this interview with Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing, a nonfiction book packed with interviews from I.R.A. members about their actions during The Troubles. Keefe (who is also a recent J. Crew model) literally solved a decades-old murder during his book research! And he has so many beautiful things to say about writing.
I also watched the Hulu show based on the book, which I highly recommend.
📚 48 books by women of color to read in 2025 by
🌭 Bad friend bingo by
😴 Discourse about how many nights you wear the same pajamas, if you wear pajamas at all, and if you store them behind your pillow. (I do this and an ex once said I was “like a squirrel.”)
🎄 Put this in your calendar for Dec. 1: The Christmas movie good-bad matrix by
👶🏼 Track the popularity of baby names (via
)
👥 What you clicked on most in the last Compendium: 49 questions to get to know yourself from
Support for the week ahead from your higher self.
A new moon in Aquarius arrives tomorrow at 6:35am CT, in the midst of so much upheaval. As of Jan. 20, Pluto is in Aquarius, poised to make major, slow-moving transformations.
From Chani Nicholas:
“Aquarius’ gifts to humanity are certainty, intellectual rigor, and an aptitude to see the forest and the trees. This sign is unflinching when it comes to truth. A visionary, Aquarius isn’t one to wear rose-colored glasses, or get lost in the comment section. It has the fortitude to make up its own mind through a deep and intensive analysis of any topic. It is clarity.”
Yes, many of the changes happening now are terrifying — but this can also be a powerful time for us to recommit to our chosen communities, and to stand behind the change we wish to see in the world.
From Biddy Tarot:
1. What is my unique contribution in the world?
2. Where am I being called to speak my truth?
3. How can I break away from disempowering patterns of behavior?
4. How can I access my genius and think outside the box?
5. How can I connect meaningfully with my community?
6. What is my highest intention for my personal freedom?
