It’s possible to feel an emotion and its exact opposite at the same time and with equal intensity. The first time I truly understood that was during the early years of my little girl’s life. Joy befriending grief, bravery sidling up to profound fear. It turns out that there are spaces inside your heart for all of it. For me 2022 was a bit like that, a coupling of extremes. This was the year @davidoftheyoon and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We love each other more today than we did at the beginning which I find astonishing. I am so lucky. This was the year that my mother got profoundly ill. I won’t say too much, but it’s no exaggeration to say that I’ve spent most of the second half of the year inside of a hospital room. She’s doing better now and I’m endlessly grateful for that. This was the year our little family started traveling again. We went to the desert, the woods, the Caribbean and Europe. It was thrilling and strange to be back in the world, to experience the ways in which it had both changed and remained the same. This was the year I sold my first adult book, One of Our Kind. In some ways it’s a book I’ve been writing my entire life. I was terrified to do it and I couldn’t not do it. It’ll be out in 2024 and you’ll hear more about it later in the year. This was the year David and I worked entirely too much. We are exhausted but also so passionate about our work. The first books from our imprint, @joyrevbooks, are almost here. In fact, the first one —Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by @taliahibbert is out on January 3rd. This was the year I co-authored my fifth(!) book, Whiteout, and went on tour with some amazing women & got to meet the most wonderful kids & share a stage with the extraordinary Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden. This was the year of fifth grade drama & first crushes & friendship shifts for our little girl. It’s all so joyful and painful and joyful again. She’s a great kid, kind and way too smart. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me and David. I hope that your year has had joy coupled with its sadnesses. I hope that you find, as I did, that there’s room in your heart for all of it.