What is "Too Late For Questions?"

Middle-Aged Woes & Wonders

Welcome to “Too Late For Questions? Middle-Aged Woes & Wonders.” I’m so glad you’re here. Since this newsletter is themed around questions, let’s start with the basics:

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What is this newsletter going to be about?

Everything and anything is fair game.

But aren’t Substack writers supposed to aim for a niche topic?

This is the trending advice. I’m not following it.

Why not?

Depends who you ask.

My buddy, Olga, would probably tell you it’s because I’m a polar responder, but I think it’s simply that I’m too curious to limit myself. That being said, I want this space to feel intentionally structured. Toward that end, you can expect some guiding principles:

• I’m more interested in questions than answers. Posts will begin from a place of curiosity or interrogation. The title will always contain an inquiry.

• While my take on things is often complex, I hope you’ll contribute even more complexity and nuance here. We can co-create this space by utilizing comment threads and group chats. If you prefer to read and roll away quietly, go for it.

• My perspective is informed by a great number of things, one of them being middle-age. If you’re lucky enough to still be hanging around after half a century or more, you’ve experienced both woes and wonders too.

• One of my personal goals is to add more wonder because let’s face it—by age 50, we’ve already made most of our life-defining choices. Even finding a novel sensory experience requires investment—a fresh find is a rare find. And when woe interferes, sometimes the best we can do is infuse that crap with even more wonder: What is this mad fuckery? Now? Are you kidding me?

• I enjoy challenging spaces, so I don’t adhere to strict content warnings. If you need bumpers around the words you read, I’m probably not the best writer for you. That being said, I have zero tolerance for bullies and am quite good at detecting ill will. If you happen upon a troll here before I do, send me an inbox message, and I’ll look into things and block and/or moderate comments.

• Just as posts will begin with a question, so too they shall end. Hopefully, you’ll still feel as if you’ve arrived somewhere else.

• If you know me in real life, you already know I’ve got no shortage of snakes and spiders underfoot. Creatures come and go, and I don’t like to suffer alone, so I do tend to write about my wildlife encounters, but I’m not here to compete with Nat Geo.

Is there any topic off limits here?

Probably not, but if I’m writing about Judaism and/or Israel, it’ll be posted in my other Substack: The Holy Chutzpah.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to getting to know you.

All the best,

Jen xoxo

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If we don’t already know each other, how did you find me?

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