We're back.
Hey there, friend. It's been a little while.
Over the past few months, I would occasionally get an email from Substack reminding me that I hadn’t written in forever. I’ve been grateful to those of you who have continued to support this seemingly defunct newsletter.
But we have big news. We’re back with a new project.
Recently, I was watching The Office. Now on Peacock, there’s a bunch of new content with The Office Superfan episodes and it has become my go-to show to have on the background when I’m working from home (shhh, don’t tell anyone).
ANYWAY, I was listening to the episode of The Office where they need to film a commercial to run on local tv. They’re looking for someone who can be the star of the commercial, leading to this epic scene:
Sue Grafton, in case you don’t know, was a mystery novelist who passed away in 2017. She is most well-known for her “Alphabet Series”. The books are named A for Alibi, B for Burglar, C for Corpse… you get the picture.
Sue Grafton published the books through “Y for Yesterday” before she passed. There is no Z. They didn’t find an extra manuscript, they didn’t hire a ghostwriter. The series simply ends after 25 books with the letter Y.
Other than this fascinating (and somewhat tragic) story behind the series, there’s also something that has intrigued me about it personally: Sue Grafton was my Granny’s favorite author. I have distinct memories of going to the library with Granny to get the latest installment in the Alphabet Series, mesmerized by the idea that someone would write (and that people would read!) a series with 26 books.
My Granny passed away when I was 13 years-old. In these past several years when I’ve been working through my own trauma and learning to live with PTSD, I’ve worked and prayed through many parts of my own story. And as I’ve seen the effects of generational trauma, I’ve often wished I could talk to my Granny, to hear her story and ask her questions to shed light on my own life.
Then I had an idea. What would happen if I read through the Alphabet Series? Would I be comforted? Would I have more questions? Would Jesus, in his mysterious ways, grant me some sort of healing through murder mysteries?
So that’s what I’m going to do. And I’m going to write about the experience of working my way through my Granny’s favorite books, trying to understand her and my past along the way.
I hope you’ll join me for this new adventure through the Alphabet Series and my own personal story. I’m guessing it will be mostly fun, maybe a little bit sentimental, and hopefully entertaining. I’m not sure where this journey will take us, but I feel strongly that this was an invitation from the Holy Spirit, not just to read these books but to chronicle the journey. It’s like my own little Julie & Julia.
I already have the first book from the library and I hope you’re as excited as I am to see what’s coming. If you’re subscribed, you don’t have to do anything. You’ll get the newsletter/blog posts.
If you haven’t subscribed, you’re going to want to. This is going to be an adventure that you won’t want to miss.
If you missed receiving these newsletters (and seeing pictures of Rocco), please consider becoming a paid subscriber. It helps to keep the lights on, the coffee cups filled, and bones in the mouth of the beagle while I write (and read). If you don’t want to become a paid subscriber, no worries. All of the content will be free.