When grief invades your life, the world becomes surreal—and, as in dreams, unexpected gifts begin to drop from the sky. After my father’s death and my separation from my partner of more than 20 years, I received an invitation to a residency I’d applied for and then forgotten about: a month in a 15th-century castle outside of Edinburgh. The playful universe seemed to be offering recompense: The ground is no longer solid beneath your feet. Here’s a castle!
Once there I became obsessed with arms, the body part that does not hold us up but that does just about everything else. I fondly considered them as they rested on the raw wood desk and atop the green comforter, thought of who and what they had held and released. For the first time perhaps ever, I had nothing but space and time and someone else doing the dishes. I used it to think and stare out into the forest. The space heater chugged away, forming condensation on the windows, as I sat bundled at my desk, wearing a scarf all day, writing an entire book in a month.
As it was often sleeting, I began, daily, to do push-ups, keeping track of them on a spreadsheet alongside my word count. Two weeks in I noticed that my arms were becoming leaner and more muscular. Soaking in the ancient bathtub down the hall from my room, I admired them in the lamplight.
My fellow fellows, who I adored, teased me. Being British, they called pushups “press-ups” and said it was very American to obsess over health. To defend myself I pointed out that I was keeping pace when it came to consumption of dry sherry and peated whisky.
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Vogue US.
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Vogue US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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WOMAN TO WOMAN
Chemena Kamali's debut for Chloé was notable most of all for the way it connected with so many. Chloe Schama meets the designer whose name is on everyone's lips.
In Wonderland
Coach creative director Stuart Vevers and husband Ben Seidler's country cottage on 40 rolling acres is filled with antiques, flea market finds and their gorgeous young twins.
SUPERNOVA
A searingly modern take on Sunset Boulevard, starring Nicole Scherzinger at the height of her powers, comes to the New York stage.
Mr. Happy
Kieran Culkin as electric an actor as he is a constitutionally ambivalent one-anchors the dark comic indie A Real Pain, and is leading Glengarry Glen Ross to Broadway. It's a lot to process.
SHAPE SHIFTER
Who is Lady Gaga now? A Hollywood superstar, a pop innovator, and a much happier, more grounded creature altogether. But as Jonathan Van Meter discovers, she's still an ever-evolving puzzle all her own. Photographed by Ethan James Green.
An Un-Still Life
The vibrant paintings of Hilary Pecis pulse with energy.
Giddyup Cup
The storied Austrian glassware maker Lobmeyr looks to the American West.
What's Going On With Pants?
The current (and oft-confusing) proliferation of them mirrors our lives today. By Maya Singer.
Full Flower
Erdem Moralioglu plants a new seed with his bloom-adorned bag.
Out of the Box
A biopic made from Legosfor Pharrell Williams.