Hi everyone, and thanks for bearing with the unpredictable sends of Sticks & Stones over the past couple years. I’m writing to you on Saturday, about a week after my last day at Outside. I’ve spent the last several years working the job of my dreams: getting to edit, lead, and occasionally write stories for the best outdoors magazine and website in the world. (OK, I’m probably a little biased.) But I was ready for a change, so I’ve accepted a job as Director of Content and Audience at Inside the Magic, a news site that reports on all things Disney. While Disney isn’t a personal super-passion of mine (at least not yet), I’m excited to branch out of the outdoors to learn more about the entertainment industry—as well as more of the business side of media.
But I already know how deeply I’m going to miss the outdoors and the Outside world, and I want to continue to share interesting things I’m reading about nature and other relevant stories in this newsletter. I’m hoping to have a bit more time and brain space to devote to it once again.
Since I left my job, my husband and I have been renovating my condo in town, going on lots of runs with the stroller and the dogs, and taking care of our now 70-some flock of chickens on our farm. (Please see Star, the bunny who lives with the chickens, munching with his friends above.) I’ve also had some time to catch up on some reading. Here’s what stood out to me the most.
What I’m reading
When I was living in Boulder, my friend Kassie Cloos and I started a Wikipedia editing workshop that we used to teach other folks, mostly women, how to add and edit entries on the website. Our goal was to increase the entries about women in the outdoors, since women in general are so underrepresented on Wikipedia. We haven’t been about to teach it in a few years now, but when I found “A Reading List on Women Adventurers” in a recent Longreads newsletter, many of these names came back to me.
One week, I was asked if I could theme an email around history’s adventurers. I didn’t really know which women to include, apart from that pilot Amelia Earhart. So I started Googling and soon came across stories of solitude-seeking, mountain-climbing, jungle-running women adventurers I’d never heard of.
Read “There She Goes: A Reading List on Women Adventurers” here.
For years many of us have admired Finland, which has recently been ranked the happiest country in the world. After growing up in Minnesota, visiting my Finnish friend’s cabin and epic sauna regularly, and then finally getting my own wood-burning sauna, I thought maybe that had something to do with their enviable lifestyle. It turns out, it’s more complicated than that.
Ms. Hansen was one of more than a dozen Finns we spoke to — including a Zimbabwean immigrant, a folk metal violinist, a former Olympian and a retired dairy farmer — about what, supposedly, makes Finland so happy. Our subjects ranged in age from 13 to 88 and represented a variety of genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds and professions. They came from Kokkola as well as the capital, Helsinki; Turku, a city on the southwestern coast; and three villages in southern, eastern and western Finland.
While people praised Finland’s strong social safety net and spoke glowingly of the psychological benefits of nature and the personal joys of sports or music, they also talked about guilt, anxiety and loneliness. Rather than “happy,” they were more likely to characterize Finns as “quite gloomy,” “a little moody” or not given to unnecessary smiling.
Read “The Finnish Secret to Happiness? Knowing When You Have Enough.” here.
This last one is not really about the outdoors either, but rather a reading list about parenting. In short: It spoke to me.
For decades, working parents have been told that it’s been every family for themselves. But the childcare crisis isn’t an individual problem to solve.
Read “Parents, You’re Not Broken. Childcare Is.” here.
The good stuff
I’m also going to try a new section in this newsletter. I’m planning to keep Sticks & Stones free for the time being, but I am hoping to monetize it a little bit to offset the cost of the time it takes me to write it, and to help encourage me to keep it going. All of that said, please bear with me as I’m jumping on the affiliate train. In each send, I’ll add a product or two or three in this section that I’m obsessed with and tell you a bit about why. Yes, they’ll be affiliate Amazon links, but they’ll also be products I genuinely love, just the good stuff.
Big Mo 20 Kids Sleeping Bag ($179): This isn’t cheap, but I finally caved and bought it after it sat in my shopping cart for weeks. I’m so glad I did. Beckett and I broke it in on a camping trip last weekend. The weather called for a low of 40, but it ended up dipping below freezing, and I was so grateful I had this cozy, wearable sleeping bag to keep my baby comfortable. It packs down super tiny, but brings a ton of warmth, and the little fold-over sleeves keep fingers extra toasty.
Last but not least
