Recommended by David Eedle
Snaps is made up of small, carefully observed moments from everyday life. Deirdre Lewis has a gift for noticing the kinds of things most of us walk past, and then turning them into gentle, precise reflections about being human. If you like writing that feels close to the ground and emotionally honest, you’ll feel at home here.
Oliver Burkeman writes about how to live well in a world that constantly pushes us to optimise, improve, and keep up. His essays are thoughtful, humane, and quietly radical in the way they question our assumptions about time, productivity, and what really matters. If you’re interested in living a decent, meaningful life without the noise, this is essential reading.
John writes about masculinity, emotional labour, and what actually happens inside relationships — trying to step outside the culture war long enough to look at the patterns clearly. He's good on the double bind many men live inside: stoicism rewarded by the world, vulnerability required by love. If the masculinity thread here resonates with you, this will too.
Anna writes about the loneliness, effort, and desire at the heart of contemporary friendship — and about what we've lost now that the institutional scaffolding (school, church, proximity) that once held friendships together has largely disappeared. The burden of maintaining connection now rests entirely on us. That's new. She writes about it practically and warmly, without pretending it's simple.
Marisa is a psychologist who has spent years researching human connection and systemic loneliness. Her book Platonic is one of the better practical guides to friendship I've come across. Her Substack brings that research lens to everyday relationship questions. It's a useful counterweight to personal narrative — hers is the science to go alongside the story.
Kathlee writes about loneliness, attachment, and the emotional patterns that shape our relationships. Her work is psychologically informed but always accessible and humane. If you’re trying to understand why relationships can be so hard, and how to move through them with more awareness, her writing is deeply useful.
Natasha interviews people about love — romantic love, long marriages, childhood friendships, love lost and found. The format is different to what I do here: less personal essay, more carefully curated conversation. But the territory is the same. She published a book off the back of it, which tells you something about the depth she brings. If you want to understand love by watching someone ask the right questions, start here.