On Madam Mystery, Hidden Struggles of Weight-Loss Meds, and Love Through Seasons
Monday #20 with M
Hi there!
Last week was a low-energy week for me. As much as I was trying to keep my head above water, there was so much resistance in me that most days I could barely write anything. So I caved. I decided to be kind to myself and give myself one week of not worrying about publishing my posts and sit with my resistance and let her know she can stay for now, but eventually, she’ll have to leave. I am writing this to remind myself it is okay to let go sometimes, and I hope it helps you if you are having the same struggle. Be kind to yourself, and just keep showing up. The rest will take care of itself.
Spotlight Three
I. A New Chapter for Agatha Christie’s Legacy
A couple of years ago, I saw an online course by Jojo Moyes on writing love stories on BBC Maestro, and that’s how I got acquainted with the British version of Master Class. Like all things British, the course and the platform itself are to the point and without fuss. A couple of weeks ago, I received an email about an upcoming surprise on the platform, and I thought to myself, “Oh, who have they gotten to teach a course on there that they are so hyped about? Someone from the Royal family?” (haha) But then it turned out it’s Agatha Christie. And I am not talking about someone sitting there and reading her advice on writing to the audience; I am talking about her being reanimated with the help of a team of academic researchers — who wrote a script using her writings and archival interviews — and a “digital prosthetic” made with artificial intelligence, then fitted over a real actor’s performance. In this case, Christie’s family, who manage her estate, are fully on board.
We just had the red line that it had to be her words,” said James Prichard, her great-grandson and the chief executive of Agatha Christie Ltd. “And the image and the voice had to be like her.
A team of academics combined or paraphrased statements from Christie’s archive to distill her advice about the writing process. They took care to preserve what they believed to be her intended meaning, with the aim of helping more of her fans interact with her work, and with fiction writing in general.
The result has become quite interesting. I have signed up for the course but haven’t started it yet. I just couldn’t resist listening to what this woman, who is a personal heroine of mine, has to say about writing. If the result is truly similar to how she looked and sounded, well, what’s not to like? I am choosing not to think about how scary the world is becoming. As soon enough, you will be able to see dead people talking everywhere. I wonder what stories her brilliant mind would have put together with all this if she were alive.
II. Through the Seasons of Life and Relationships
When you see Steve Carell and Tina Fey on the cast of a TV series, it becomes an easy choice to hit play. This 8-episode mini-series was no exception, and thank goodness some people still believe in wrapping things up in one season rather than milking a good idea to the point of disappointment. It’s a story about a group of three couple-friends who have been each other’s lives for decades, and all of a sudden, their group goes through a drastic change. The story follows them across four seasons of their lives and all the ups and downs this new arrangement brings to each of their lives as well as their collective group. There is a lot to uncover in this ordinary tale of events, but what stood out to me is that every single relationship in your life worth having takes effort, commitment, and a passionate fight to stay healthy. If you want people to stay in your life, whether it’s your partner, lover, best friend, child, or parent, you need to grow up, persevere when things get rough, and most importantly, never give up. It’s funny how we forget that, just like materialistic valuables in our lives, our relationships also need care and attention. One of the things I learned the hard way in my life was that the hardship of it all is just part of the process. You can’t expect it to be easy all the time, and the fact that it gets tough sometimes doesn’t mean it’s any less important or valuable. You just have to keep trying.
III. The Stigma Continues
This article caught me by surprise. I had a hunch that people might be judging those using weight-loss medication, mostly because it started with celebrities, and the things they have seem so out of reach sometimes that it could create anger and resentment in people. That’s understandable. But as these medications become more accessible to non-celebrities, especially those dealing with obesity, I would have thought we could finally celebrate this amazing scientific discovery that is going to make life much more enjoyable for a lot of people. But alas! It’s as if humans are incapable of letting their own and others’ body images be a source of torture. This article talks about the fact that so many people using GLP-1 medications are hiding it, even from their partners and closest friends and family members. Once the noticeable results start showing, they either have to come clean, with a lot of shame and embarrassment, or keep denying it and resorting to all sorts of lies about how they have changed their diet. To me, it’s ridiculous.
First of all, why should we allow ourselves to comment on someone else’s body? But that’s a much deeper issue and not an easy fix. But why would you be so cruel to tell someone who has chosen to get help from science to overcome an issue they weren’t able to solve on their own that they are lazy and have chosen the easy way out?
Second of all, medication is medication. There is nothing ‘easy’ about it. This stuff is still pretty expensive, so rest assured these non-celebrity people are sacrificing something else in their lives to be able to afford this medication. Like any other drug, there are side effects: nausea, gastrointestinal issues, headaches, just to name a few.
There is an element of shame for some people, embarrassment that they have had to somehow stoop to taking medication for weight loss instead of achieving it by “natural” means such as exercise and dieting. If not ashamed about the drug itself, some users feel ashamed about being overweight in the first place. “I think: why can’t my willpower do it?” Jasmine says. “But then I know that I’ve been using willpower and it hasn’t worked.
This paragraph from one of the interviewees sums it up beautifully:
Perhaps it’s no surprise that people choose to keep their use of GLP-1 medication secret, given the sensitivity of weight as a subject. It should be none of our business whether someone else chooses to take weight loss medication or doesn’t, exercises or doesn’t, eats more or less, weighs more or less. It should be a personal choice made for personal reasons, subject to no judgment from anybody else. We don’t live in that world, unfortunately, and so the secret jabbers find themselves stuck: damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. As Jasmine puts it, “You may deride someone for being overweight, but when they take a medication to resolve that issue, you deride them for doing something about it.
On a Brief Note
The Write’s Guide to People Watching
For all the character-driven and dialogue-loving writers out there, you know that people-watching is a pure gold mine. This post talks about how to be strategic and what to focus on in different settings to gather valuable material for your writing and how to be subtle about it. It reminded me of a favourite pastime we had with a dear friend, trying to guess or make up stories about people sitting around us in a cafe or restaurant and having a lot of fun trying to come up with what they are saying to each other and how the situation is going to unfold. If you have someone who’s up for this, try it, you’ll never be able to go back.
Words Worth Sharing
Sometimes fear does not subside and one must choose to do it afraid.
Elisabeth Elliot
This is it for this week’s edition of Monday #X with M. If something here made you think, smile, or sparked your curiosity, consider sharing it with someone who might enjoy it too. You never know whose day you might brighten with a thoughtful word or idea—it’s a small act of kindness that can go a long way. See you next Monday!