Hello and a happy Friday to you,
I’m reading a brilliant book at the moment called The Single Revolution by Shani Silver.
I’d actually had a bit of a reading drought for a couple of months or maybe more and it was Elizabeth Day’s Magpie that saved me from my reading rut.
Thanks to this novel by the How To Fail podcaster rescuing my inner bookworm, I am now onto Shani’s book, which has the tagline ‘Don’t look for a match. Light one.’ I am hoping to stay on a roll to get through the piles of books I am keen to read, but never seem to find the time.
“You deserve everything you want, and I believe you’ll have it. If the dating space isn’t giving you anything but disappointment, frustration and hopelessness, then get out - you’re allowed to. You are as free as you have ever been, and will ever be, to put yourself first. You are more important than ‘finding someone’, and you always were.” ~ Shani Silver
I’m on chapter 10 of The Single Revolution and it’s so powerful and thought-provoking. It’s already made me think differently about how single people are made into entertainment for dating shows and it’s even made me consider deleting the dating apps. I was actually thinking if I stopped consuming dating shows, I might get more books read and generally more stuff done. We shall see.
Another thing that made me think a bit differently was when I went to my friend's house for lunch on Wednesday and she’d made a really delicious cooked meal, which we ate at the table with her partner. As someone who lives alone and works freelance, I can sometimes forget the joy of a nourishing homemade meal, especially in the middle of the day. But we can have nice things, and we can even have them at lunchtime, rather than standing at the kitchen counter grazing all afternoon. The following day, I took time to make myself a really tasty cooked lunch, which I attempted to savour.
Here are some uplifting stories for you.
Uplifting News Stories
Marcus Rashford receives MBE for campaign to feed children | Evening Standard
YouTuber builds elevator for his 20-year-old cat who struggles with stairs | Mashable
Jacinda Ardern’s toddler interrupts Facebook Live | Guardian
Cat foster mum is bringing kitten therapy to old people’s home | Yahoo
11-year-old boy makes videos to help shelter dogs get adopted | Today
Features Worth Sharing
Netflix, please add a ‘watched it’ button already | Wired
The melancholy of autumn brings a new kind of clarity | The i
How to stop mindless scrolling | Metro
Hope you have a restorative weekend, whatever that looks like for you,
BB x
This is The Uplift, a weekly newsletter by me, journalist Becky Barnes. If you enjoyed it, feel free to buy me a coffee.
The Uplift will arrive in your inbox every Friday, featuring good news and self care. I also have a podcast about life advice.
A bit about me: I’m a journalist living in London. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram.