INSIDE

Good morning,

There's something about the week after Labor Day that always feels like a reset. Maybe it's years of school calendars, but September still feels more like the beginning of something than January ever does.

You may notice that PROVOKED looks a little different this morning.

We've changed the format of the newsletter, including a table of contents at the top. You can jump around, read straight through, ignore half of it. The idea is to make it easier to find what interests you.

We're changing some other things, too.

This week we're introducing a new editorial category: Caregiving. I'm delighted to welcome Lauren Smith Brody, former executive editor of Glamour and founder of The Fifth Trimester, whose work has long focused on women, work, family, and caregiving. Her first feature, The Big Sisters Are Tired, looks at women who find themselves responsible for a sibling, a kind of caregiving we rarely talk about.

You'll be hearing much more from us about caregiving this fall. Women are so often the people expected to figure it out. We think that's worth investigating.

We're also getting out from behind our screens. In two weeks, I'll be having lunch in New York with 30 PROVOKEDplus members at our first pop-up event. I can't wait.

And here on the North Shore of Long Island, fall has shown up. I've started thinking about sweaters, and right on cue, we're beginning a three-part partnership with Soft Surroundings about getting dressed for fall.

Please take a look and support the brands that support PROVOKED. I don't say that enough. Partnerships like this help pay our writers and editors and allow us to keep doing this work.

There's a lot more coming. Some of it you'll see soon. Some of it we're still building.

See you next week,

— Susan

CAREGIVING

The Big Sisters Are Tired

BY LAUREN SMITH BRODY

There are laws for caring for a sick child or an aging parent, however inadequate. For a sibling, there's only you—and the person who grew up alongside you needs something you were never prepared to provide.
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​Read this piece​

This is a paid sponsorship with Soft Surroundings.

It's 58 Degrees. By Lunch It's 78.

September would be easier if it could pick a season.

Mornings are now chilly, so I toss on a waffle henley and a cropped cardigan, then tie a cute scarf around my neck. By lunch, the scarf is tied to my purse, I'm carrying the sweater, and I'm sweating. I stop by the store and freeze in the frozen food aisle, so the sweater goes back on. By dinner, who knows.

Pumpkin spice arrived a month ago, which makes it feel like time to haul out the fall clothes. It isn't. September is asking for layers, things you can put on, take off, and put back on again without having to rethink the whole outfit.

A French terry fleece popover or a drape cardigan over a classic white T-shirt. A floral print sweater with a skirt now and jeans later. Sleeves you can push up. Nothing terribly complicated, just clothes that forgive you for not knowing at breakfast what the weather will be at 3 p.m.

That's what we like about Soft Surroundings' Life in Layers collection. Soft knits, cardigans, jackets, and toppers meant to be mixed, matched, and peeled off as necessary, available in Misses, Petites, and Women's Plus. Softness and comfort have been part of the brand from the beginning, which suddenly feels less like a luxury and more like practical sense.

September isn't fall. It's summer and fall taking turns, and I'm always dressed for the one that just left.

TAKE NOTE
​Timely and worth your attention.

CULTURE

Seeing The Odyssey Made Me Realize I Was a Calypso

BY BLAIR GLASER

She rescued him, healed him, and lost him the moment he no longer needed rescuing. Calypso's name comes from the Greek for "to hide," which turns out to be the point.​
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​Read this piece​

READER SPOTLIGHT

"All of us should remember this: 'She spent freely on what mattered and almost nothing on everything else.' It’s not necessarily about how much money you have, it’s about aligning your spending with your values and priorities. Love this!"—Kristi on ​I Finally Understand Why My Grandma Hoarded Ketchup Packets​

Want to be featured next? Comment on your favorite piece—we read them all.

MOST READ LAST WEEK

​The Older I Get, the Heller the No

​Getting older should make saying no easier. Turns out, saying it was never the hard part.

BY CHANTRISE SIMS HOLLIMAN

​Read this piece​

Thirty of you are coming to a pop-up lunch in two weeks, hosted by me and our wellness editor Susan Spencer. Good food, wine, and great conversation.

That's what PROVOKEDplus looks like now.

The Book Club with Jane Green was the start. The next one is in early November. Pop-up lunches are heading to Washington, D.C. and Houston. And next month is our first Off the Record session online, where I say the things I can't put in the newsletter.

Plus Good Enough every Sunday, which members tell us is the best thing we make.

​JOIN PROVOKEDplus.

THE SHORT LIST

❤️ Caring for aging parents is hard enough. It’s even more difficult when the relationship was complicated long before they got old.

📺 On television, men get to age. Women get quietly written out. The latest numbers make the double standard hard to miss.

💛 I own this $95 bangle from Jennifer Miller. It bears a rather striking resemblance to a certain bracelet that costs thousands. Just saying.