Who is your current favorite baby and why are they the best baby?
Five Fun Questions (and a recommendation) with Kathleen Donahoe
Hi! I’m Keris. I’m an author writing about writing and books and music and life, and the last song I listened to was Twist & Shout by The Beatles, because I was making an all-Beatles playlist for an upcoming 20 minute run. Twist & Shout is not on it.
The second in my new series of interviews is with Kathleen Donahoe, who I’ve interviewed twice this week, I love her so much! Read the other interview over on my money Substack:
Kathleen Donahoe is a writer and poet living in Seattle. She has written about how her MS diagnosis informs her parenting and the worst gift she ever received. She is currently writing her first novel, and warmly invites you to follow her free Substack newsletter, A Little Laugh.
Someone gives you $10k. You HAVE to spend it on travel. Where do you go? What do you do?
I’d go to Hawaii. Before I went there for the first time, I thought, "Jesus Christ, everyone needs to chill out about Hawaii." So much chatter about how GREAT it is. Well, terrible news—it's all correct, and living in Seattle, it's our one close ("close" meaning 6+ hours; no one talks about how far Seattle is from everything!) tropical destination.
I'd take my family and we'd surf (we're very bad but very cheerful and persistent), and I'd make everyone listen to me talk about whale migration patterns. I'd spend at least $500 of it on grocery store poke, which is heaven.
What's the most delicious thing you've ever eaten? And the worst?
I've lived away from Atlanta, GA for over ten years and miss so many bites—the cornbread, the pimento cheese, the fried chicken. The she-crab soup at South City Kitchen in Atlanta is the #1 bite. Bless.
Worst? Last night I burned dinner (again) because I was writing. It was carne asada and I left it on the grill, and it was bad! Texture of a tire! And yet we ate it, and no one complained, because my family has learned that's generally the best option.
If you could learn a new skill from anyone in the world, what would you want to learn and who would you want to teach you?
I'm going rogue and picking three:
Anne Helen Petersen, to teach me how to build a life of the mind and a yard of dahlias (my dad is currently teaching me dahlias and it's wonderful)
José Andrés, to teach me how to help people at scale
My daughter, to teach me a back handspring.
What would be the title of the story of your life?
SHE WENT HARD
What (fun) question should I ask the next person I interview?
Who is your current favorite baby and why are they the best baby?
Bonus question, set by the last person I interviewed, Seth Werkheiser:
When's the last time you had a happy cry?
I'll be honest—I had to sit with this question for a while. I've cried more in the last year than my entire life combined.
My mom, who has dementia, is at the end of her life, and I recently had a close friend pass away. I've just been swimming in grief.
But when I was last with my mom, I got to say everything to her—thank you, thank you, thank you, again and again. It was, in truth, a happy cry to be able to tell her that. What a gift.
Please recommend something - a book, film, TV show, song or album - and tell me why you love it.
10 out of 10 recommendation for Lucius' new album LUCIUS.
The first song is called "Final Days," and has brought me a lot of peace (and joy, listen to it and dance around your kitchen with me).
Also, my personal rule is if I want to feel MORE of a feeling, I should put on music, and if I want to feel LESS of a feeling, I should put on music. This album fills me with, "life is so hard and so beautiful." Give it a listen, if you need more of that, or less of other things.
Thanks so much, Kathleen!
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The Harry Styles Effect is OUT NOW
Are you going to answer the baby question bc I do want to know