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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2026 |
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Are you the outgoing one? The woman who always shows up, stays late, remembers the birthdays, and never seems to run out of great ideas. I fit that bill, as do a lot of us, I imagine.
We get pretty good at playing our parts. Sometimes so good that we forget we have a choice.
Our feature writer this week is a preacher, a public speaker, and a woman who can work a room with the best of them. She's also an introvert who would very much like to be home by six. At 50, she decided she was done apologizing for it. I suspect we can all relate to this one.
We're also bringing back one of my favorite PROVOKED projects: the Minimoirs. Nearly 100 women have now written their life stories in exactly 18 words. The youngest is 45, the oldest 91. Some are funny, some heartbreaking, and some make you want to know the other 75,000 words.
What strikes me is how differently we describe ourselves when we're the ones holding the pen.
Elsewhere this week, we're looking at who gets credit when fashion borrows from Indigenous cultures, and how a violinist in Penn Station brought one woman back to memories of her parents and a regret she still carries.
And we have someone new to introduce. Stephanie Valentine and I met in a newsletter masterclass, and we hit it off immediately. She's joining PROVOKED as our weekly food contributor, starting next Wednesday in Well/Actually. You'll meet her below.
As for those 18 words, I've written mine. I'm curious what you'd say in yours.
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I Can Love You and Still Need to Leave by Six |
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Pastor’s wife, preacher, public speaker, former teacher. Two hours in, with a plate of barbecue and a convincing impression of someone who loves a crowd, something clicks off, and the countdown to the car begins. Leaving early shouldn’t be a big deal. Not everyone agrees.
Read this piece
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Off the Record with Susan |
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When was the last time someone asked what you think and then actually listened?
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m. ET, I'm getting on Zoom with PROVOKEDplus members for one live hour. A little behind the scenes from me, then it’s your turn: your next move, your second act, what's bugging you, the thing you haven’t said out loud yet.
No recording. No replay. Just us.
PROVOKEDplus is $8 a month, and Off the Record is included.
Already a member? Save your seat.
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COMMUNITY
What Do You Call a Memoir in 18 Words? A Minimoir.
BY MELISSA T. SHULTZ
Barbra Streisand needed nearly 1,000 pages. Cher needed two volumes. We’re asking for 18 words. Nearly 100 women, ages 45 to 91, have taken the challenge. Read theirs, then write yours.
Read this piece
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DEAR READER
A PERSONAL ESSAY FROM A READER
I Heard a Violinist in Penn Station. Then I Heard My Parents.
BY AMY LOSAK
A woman in black plays violin in a dank corner of Penn Station. Commuters hurry past, but the music stops one of them cold. Suddenly, she's somewhere else.
Read this piece
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Meet Stephanie Valentine
Good food should be one of life’s pleasures. And at this point, who needs another set of rules about what we should or shouldn’t eat?
Steph Valentine is our new food contributor. She’s a holistic nutritionist, founder of SV Living, and author of Love What’s On Your Plate, a finalist for the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in the Health and Nutrition category. Her recipes use ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. She doesn’t believe in programs you go on and off, or labeling foods “good” and “bad.” And if a dish flops, she laughs. Perfect was never the point.
Starting Wednesday, Oct. 28, Steph will share a recipe every week in Well/Actually, our new free health newsletter.
She also loves entertaining, mostly because it brings her grown kids home. And she’s figured out how to enjoy her own party instead of spending the whole time in the kitchen. She’s sharing her tricks in a free live Easy Hosting class on Monday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m. ET.
Bring your questions.
Save your seat for the free hosting class
Get Steph's cookbook
P.S. Her cookbook is gorgeous. Gift it, or keep it for yourself.
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TAKE NOTE
Timely and worth your attention. |
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📺 SHE'S LEAVING ON HER OWN SCHEDULE
Christiane Amanpour, 68, is leaving CNN after 43 years, saying she decided to “separate” from the network after lengthy deliberation. She started in Atlanta in 1983 in an entry-level job and became the most recognizable foreign correspondent on television: the Gulf War, Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Ukraine. Her daily show goes weekly in early 2027 and ends in May; her PBS show wraps at the end of this year. What’s next? A podcast with her ex-husband and, in her words, “interesting new projects down the line.”
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🕳️ THE VIOLENCE NOBODY COUNTS
A new report to the UN General Assembly finds that violence against older women stays largely invisible, because so much research simply stops counting women after a certain age or never breaks findings out by it. There are now 664 million women 60 and older worldwide, nearly double the number in 2000 and headed for 1.13 billion by 2050, and women make up 62% of everyone over 80. The report names economic abuse, coercive control, neglect, and tech-enabled abuse alongside physical violence, and singles out widows and women in institutions as most at risk. If the survey stops at 49, so does the help.
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🩺 NOT ALL IN YOUR HEAD
Women with autoimmune diseases were nearly 75% more likely than men to report being told their symptoms were psychosomatic, and almost 50% more likely to report a psychiatric misdiagnosis, according to a new study led by researchers at Cambridge and the University of East Anglia. Men most often got the right diagnosis in under three months. For women, it was most often one to two years, with more doctor visits along the way. Two years of “it’s probably stress” is two years of a disease nobody is treating.
Health news like this moves to Well/Actually, our new free newsletter, every Wednesday starting Oct. 28.
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Fashion Loves Indigenous Design. Here’s Who Never Got Paid. |
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You may already own one: a blouse with beautiful embroidery, bought simply because you loved it. Where did that pattern come from, and did anyone who made it get paid? Ask Adidas. A year after apologizing to a Zapotec village in Mexico, the company still won't say.
Read this piece |
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“I am late to PROVOKED but I am absolutely loving it. This article had me reaching for tissue so I could wipe away tears from laughing so much so I could continue reading the article. This was totally spot on! Thank you, Abby!” —Tina on Good Enough Housekeeping: Finally, a Magazine That Gets It |
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Want to be featured next? Comment on your favorite piece—we read them all.
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MOST READ LAST WEEK
We Engineered Loneliness and Called It Convenience
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Every errand we automated used to come with a person attached. |
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COMING OCTOBER 28: OUR NEW HEALTH NEWSLETTER
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Health news when it breaks, what the research actually says, and the parts that never fit in a headline.
Free, in your inbox every Wednesday
Separate from your Thursday newsletter.
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