Happy New Year, Reader! I thought I would kick off 2026 with a cult classic, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I still remember the proud-mom moment I had when my then eight-year-old stumbled across this movie completely by accident, fell in love with it, and then got mad at me for not showing it to her sooner. Which is totally fair. Since Ferris Bueller’s Day Off turns 40 this year (which feels both impossible and incredibly rude), let’s break it down. I want to start with a hard truth: this movie...
18 days ago • 2 min read
We made it to the end of the year Reader! I was always planning to take a look at When Harry Met Sally for my New Year’s email, since it’s my all-time favorite movie and the New Year's scene still makes me cry every time. The recent loss of Rob Reiner hit me harder than I expected, and I realized it’s because he’s connected to so many stories that shaped me. It only feels fitting to end the year breaking down one of his films. I’ve always loved a good rom-com, and When Harry Met Sally is...
26 days ago • 2 min read
Season's Greetings Reader, This week’s story lesson comes from The Family Stone, which is one of my favorite holiday movies. I sit down to watch it on December 1st every single year. It hits a little differently this year, with the passing of Diane Keaton, who played the beloved matriarch, Sybil. As heartwarming as it is frustrating, the story in this film reveals what happens when perfection becomes a wall instead of a bridge. Meredith joins her boyfriend Everett for Christmas with his...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
I have a confession to make, Reader. It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my least favorite holiday movies. It’s dark. It’s depressing. It’s my dad’s favorite movie, so I’ve seen it more times than I care to admit. Sure, it ultimately sells the idea of hope and gratitude—but it is a hell of a journey to get there. It’s not exactly my go-to for holiday cheer. So why am I putting this one in my Saturday lineup? Because it holds a damn good storytelling lesson. While the movie is often remembered for...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Happy December Reader! The Holiday is one of my favorite movies. Not just as a winter classic, but as a reliable blues-buster any time of year. It’s got range. From Iris’s unrequited love spiral to Amanda’s emotionally constipated CEO energy to Jack Black being, well, Jack Black—it’s not your standard multiple-POV story. It’s four genres in a trench coat and manages to pull it off brilliantly: Rom-com Drama Old Hollywood nostalgia Cozy fairytale When speakers and writers don’t blend genres...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Ho ho ho Reader! Every year, I celebrate the advent period by watching a holiday movie every day until Christmas. I love to revisit old favorites like A Christmas Story, Love Actually, The Muppet Christmas Carol (it’s the best one, truly), and Four Christmases, as well as see what’s new. I love the wide variety of stories told around the winter holidays, and the nostalgia so many of these movies bring. Which brings me to this week’s selection, Home Alone. This timeless classic is often...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader! Let’s be honest, this week has been the kind of week where you just need to curl up in your cozy pj’s and turn to your favorite emotional support shows. One of those shows for me is The Office. Not just because Michael, Dwight, and Jim will have me rolling in minutes, but because it brings about a certain familiarity. True story: In my 20s, I moved to Seattle, sight unseen, with only an apartment lease and a handful of interviews I’d lined up for the week I arrived (RIP...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Good morning Reader! This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about the pressure to be palatable. Maybe I’m just a tiny bit feral from my weeks of solo travel, but I keep noticing how often people soften themselves to be accepted. I see it in speaking all the time. People back away from the challenging truth or rewrite content to be more digestible. While we want our audiences to connect with us, we also need to be unapologetically authentic. People can smell insincerity a mile away, and it’s the...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Well hey, Reader! I debated for hours this morning whether to stick with the most iconic scene from Up or pull a lesson from somewhere else. After writing (and deleting) two hours’ worth of words that didn’t feel right, I decided to go with my first instinct. Sometimes, we don’t need to be clever, we just need to tell the story that comes to us with ease. I’m assuming we have all cried over the opening montage of Up. I have cried over it so many times that even hearing the soundtrack on...
2 months ago • 2 min read