A special birthday request!

Actually, be warned: two

Dear friends,

It’s my birthday today: I’m forty-seven, which feels like roughly the time in life when you start saying “years young” instead of “years old.” And it’s an extremely happy day for me this year because it’s the day I got the first copies of my book, The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Masters. It’s so beautiful to have this in my hands at last: allow me, like a proud parent, to share some pictures. And allow me, also, ugh, sorry, to ask you to pre-order it, if you haven’t. I’m not going to ask this every week, I promise. But it’s my birthday! And the book will be here in less than a month, on October 10th.

This book looks so beautiful. I don’t want to give a full Oscar speech here, but I owe a huge debt to so many people who helped get this into the world. As any writer knows, writing is only part of publishing. So thanks to everyone who made this look so fabulous. I am lucky to have you in my life.

And that brings me to my second request.

A few people have asked me what I want for my birthday. I never know what to say, since I really do have everything I could possibly want. But this year, I do have a special request. And since it’s my birthday and people have asked me this, I am going to ask all of you.

You all know how important animal welfare is to me. I support an animal shelter in Lebanon, a country that has been undergoing an influx of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, a 98% collapse in the value of its currency, a governmental meltdown, an explosion in Beirut, and a general societal collapse.

When people are suffering this terribly, animals suffer even more: abandoned and abused, unfed and unprotected. Please look at their Instagram and consider making a donation. It would go a very long way, and mean the world to a little dog or cat who might, thanks to you, have a chance at a better life.

Warmest wishes to all,

B.