The End of Emma (For Now) | May 2026

Happy Monday! Can you believe it’s the last week of May??! We’re zipping into summer territory even if the weather isn’t quite consistently summer-like. On Tuesday of last week the temperature soared into the 90s and the sun was shining! And on Sunday the high was 52ºF and it rained all day. Today is expected to be slightly warmer (mid-70s) with lots of rain – fine by me. I will always take the cooler weather.

This week was full of appointments so it was hard to find any traction for my personal projects and extra fun things around the house. It was one of those weeks where we were happy to just get the basics in! But I do have something a little fun to share with you, plus a handful of finished books.

Home:

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Many of you know that I’ve embraced the pen pal life this year! And I had a lovely moment on Saturday afternoon when I stopped at the mailbox on my way home from work. I had two letters (thank you Juliann and Sarah) and they both used Goodnight Moon stamps! That felt like such serendipity and lifted my entire mood.

And the offer still stands – if you’d like to receive a letter from me, please let me know in the comments. I will email you back at the email address you used to write the comment and ask for your mailing address. There’s no pressure to respond timely or at all. Writing letters has been so much fun for me and I’d love more pen pals!

Reading:

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol 7 by Beth Brower
(Amazon | Bookshop)

“There is no contentment like that of sitting at one’s window, reading a book, with the sounds of birdcall and the promise of spring.”

The seventh edition is full of delightful happenings for Emma, including a duel and hosting her dreadful aunt and lovely cousin while the roof of their own home was repaired. Most delightfully is her growing friendship with Ben Chambers, the grumpy proprietor of The Hound, the gentleman’s glove shop and curator of fine goods. He has created a custom book binding for Emma’s library and insists, despite his surly attitude towards her, that she have custom leather journals for her jottings.

I must befriend a book binder, post haste.

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The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson
(Amazon | Bookshop – not yet available)

“Even though Mercy once stood firm before a man with a machete willing to die for her mother, it is with a heft of sadness that Mercy realizes that although she loves her mother she cannot abandon reason for her. She cannot do what her mother is always asking, which is have faith, blind faith.”

I was skeptical of this book at the beginning: we meet Mercy, a precocious and curious child, in utero. Even as an infant, she has a sharp and clear understanding of the world around her in ways that seemed impossible. But as the story progressed, I became more attached to Mercy and her observations and felt disappointed every time I had to take out my earbuds – I wanted to keep listening!

Set in the 60s, Mercy is born into a life of chaos. She learns about the joys of the library early on and spends much of her time lost in stories to escape the realities of her own life. I think a lot of us will identify with Mercy’s love of books and her willingness to question the status quo of her life, even if our upbringings were radically different.

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The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol 8 by Beth Brower
(Amazon | Bookshop)

“The telling must be accurate. And not simply to explain away having done something unquestionably beyond the acceptable boundaries laid out by society. But also because the peculiar events of the afternoon deserve such attention. In preparation, I have purchased more ink.”

The eighth volume sees Emma, Islington, Hawkes, and Pierce visit Stonegate, Islington’s childhood and country home. Its description was captivating and from the pages of a fairy tale. We learned more about Emma’s three gentlemen than ever before in this volume, which complicates things in unexpected ways for Emma.

Sadly, this is the last available volume of Emma’s diaries. I can’t find any information on when the ninth is expected, other than sometime in 2026.

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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
(Amazon | Bookshop)

“That’s what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It’s geometrically progressive – all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.”

After finishing the Emma books and feeling bereft, there was only one possible alternative: a visit to Guernsey. I always get swept into this story and it makes me laugh every time I listen to it. And because it’s such a book lover’s book, it always reignites my interest in more stories, which is exactly what I needed this weekend.

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On Wednesday I shared a couple of quotes from my Oxford Project. They were about the importance of recognizing when we’re being lied to for someone else’s gain and the consequences of those lies. I’m feeling nervous about publishing on Wednesday because I haven’t made much progress in my reading. And I suppose that’s valuable to write about too. So, please click that image above and subscribe to my newsletter (it’s free!) if you’re interested in following along.

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Dawsey is alerting me to the fact that it’s time to go outside this morning. It’s a rain boot day, which is my favorite. I hope your week gets off to a wonderful start and you find time for the things you love. Take good care!