Melancholia

Every year as fall sets in, I need to cry

Sep 19, 2023

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selective focus photography of orange and brown falling maple leaves

I’ve read a lot about melancholy on Substack over the last couple of weeks - as we enter into fall and that vibe just hits and settles over me. There’s this lovely post that talks about home and moving from

Hank Shaw

To The Bone

California Leavin'

I am no longer a Californian. Such an odd sentence. After all, I am New Jersey born and raised, but I spent more time in California than any other state, longer even than my childhood. I became a Californian in a way that very few states allow: Embrace the place, and ye shall be accepted…

a year ago · 45 likes · 41 comments · Hank Shaw

Or this stunning post from

Eleanor Mills

about how the season naturally comes with loss.

The Queenager with Eleanor Mills

Eleanor's Letter: Empty nests, new beginnings - tis the season of new starts but change is difficult

Dear Queenagers The pic shows the silver birch tree under which I sat and contemplated this morning. It is 31 degrees in my bit of North London but it’s also weirdly autumnal. Tiny yellow leaves floated down in the breeze above me, dancing in the dappled sunlight like phosphorescence in the sea at night. Some of the grasses are turning gold and in my street there is a carpet of brown leaves from the blighted chestnut trees which shed before everything else. This seasonal mash-up is a bit disconcerting; the hottest day of the year coupled with a Fall feel. The summer having the last laugh just as the kids are back at school and my inbox is full of back-to-work woolly fashion. A cashmere gilet? A pair of tweed office trousers? I can’t think of anything I need or want less…

a year ago · 24 likes · 4 comments · Eleanor Mills

And finally there’s this thoughtful entry on writing as an escape to autumn, by

Lonely Robot Theme

Summer is gone.

As the vibrant colours of summer gradually yield to the gentle hues of autumn, a peculiar sense of loneliness often descends upon the soul. It's a season of transition, where nature itself seems to be preparing for solitude, shedding its leaves in a quiet, contemplative dance. In the midst of this transformation, many individuals find solace in writing, using words as a means to navigate the complex emotions that autumn's melancholy can evoke…

a year ago · 16 likes · 3 comments · Lonely Robot Theme

Even before I had read any of these, I was feeling the effect of autumn, feeling like I need a good cry to help me clear out the old before I get up and pull myself together. I feel the need to add the caveat that I’m FINE, everything’s ok, and all that jazz. I wrote this last week in a coffee shop while the sun came in through the windows at way too low an angle for early afternoon. It’s my contribution to the theme of Substack autumn sadness.

Letters from a Muslim Woman

Melancholia

Every year as fall sets in, I need to cry

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