36 Comments
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Corynne Steindler Cirilli's avatar

Wow ... just, wow. What a story of survival. It brings up so many feelings for me, even though I have never been in a situation such as yours. It reminds me to practice gratitude and not sweat the small stuff but it also brings up a lot of feelings or anger towards people who act so carelessly and selfishly that they can take so much from a person in the name of a beer. Thank you for sharing your beautiful story and I hope that every day is easier for you than the last.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

I am deeply grateful for your words. Thank you for writing.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

So great to hear from you. Absolutely. Practice gratitude. I am grateful to you.

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Jane Pratt's avatar

Judith, I've already said how much I love this piece. Your writing inspires me and so many other writers too to be better writers themselves. One thing I have not had a chance to do is read your writing from pre-truck days, and I would love to do that and compare. I'm curious how you think about the differences between your writing now and then also. Thank you, thank you thank you for the beautiful work.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

Thank you so much for asking. My standards are just as high as they ever were, but writing -- and everything else -- is way harder than before. Physically and in every other way. There were also injuries to my back and hand and eyes, as well as to my memory and my skill set pre-truck.

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Jane's avatar

Stunning writing! I had the same question about before vs after writing, and you mention the process is harder, but there’s something else I can’t quite articulate about the feel of your writing , there’s a brilliance and clarity that feels really unique.

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Jane Pratt's avatar

I agree, and I still would love to see Judith's writing from her magazine writing days in the 80s all the way through to now. I would publish that as a book in a heartbeat!

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

Are you publishing books?

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Jane Pratt's avatar

Not currently, but I would like to!

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

Excellent.

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Sarah Swinwood's avatar

I wholeheartedly agree! The before and after, what feels mostly different now? Monumental accomplishment.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

For the last nineteen years, I've tried to make things look way easier than they are. This includes writing and everything else.

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Jane Pratt's avatar

And you absolutely do make it look easy. That is such a feat that so many of us can learn from. I'll just say again how thrilled I am to have gotten to know you through this process. And I'm really looking forward to your next piece for us, which we are already discussing! Thank you!!

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Charlie Connell's avatar

What an amazing story. To see how eloquently you can write after what you've been through is staggering to experience. Thank you so much for sharing

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

Thank you. I am honored by your words.

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Sarah Swinwood's avatar

What an incredible story and so eloquently written! Thank you so much for sharing. It’s such a testament to your capacity for courage and resilience. Bravo.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

Thank you! I am honored by your words.

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Melissa Glass's avatar

Your writing touches me in so many ways. I always look forward to seeing something new you've written pop up in my Substack. Thank you for sharing this!

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Jane Pratt's avatar

Me too and thanks for saying it here. I was late to learn about Judith, but I'm so so happy I did. I will follow her everywhere too.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

Deeply grateful.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

Deep bow. Please share my work if possible. Subscriptions are free. Really. Thank you.

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Jane Pratt's avatar

I will sing this from the rooftops! Everyone should subscribe to

https://judithhannahweiss.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=publication_embed&utm_medium=web

No one will regret reading your wonderful Substack, Dispatches From Bewilderment.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

Thank you, Jane. I am deeply grateful to you.

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Sheila's avatar

Wherever you were and wherever you are, you are one terrific and poetic writer. You say things like no one else. I know you will keep on writing and I thank you.

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Jane Pratt's avatar

Beautifully said and I agree with every word.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

I am grateful fir your words.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

Oh, wow. Thank you for your words! Please share my work, if possible. Each piece takes less than 2 minutes to read and no one needs to pay. I "heart" you.

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Maria Cristina Garcia's avatar

Ay, dios. I was on the way up to NYC on Amtrak when I was reading your story. I went from angry (Who was this person driving the truck?) to shaking my head (I hope they're in jail.) to remembering the day that Gabby Giffords got shot (It was my birthday). I wanted to tell everybody in the train car to read what happened to you. I wanted them to be angry, sad, maybe even enraged. I am sorry this happened. I admire your tenacity and desire to tell your story. I was hooked by your first sentence. Please keep on writing. Thank you.

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Jane Pratt's avatar

I love this comment so much. I can just picture you on that train ride, you painted the picture so perfectly. And you summed up so many of my emotions while working on this piece also. Thank you for writing in!

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

For, not fir.

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Jane Pratt's avatar

Got it! I've always thought fir was a funny word anyway.

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Jane Pratt's avatar

The other thing I have not asked you in all of our exchanges, unless you told me and I forgot, is whether you and I overlapped in our past magazine lives. We worked for so many of the same outlets, it seems likely we would have.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

We worked for the same companies, but not for the same publications as far as I know. I was mostly at Conde, Martha Stewart and Time. Plus I ghosted a few books that came out of icons and their magazines.

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Jane Pratt's avatar

I was at time in the late 90s when Martha was there. And then I was at Conde later. Did you work out of the Time offices? I did but they were always intimidating.

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Judith Hannah Weiss's avatar

I worked at Time until 1980, then began freelancing. Magazine and TV promotion. I was the proverbial, or non-proverbial, single mom and earned more that way. Then I discovered ghosting which was best for paying bills. At Conde I worked on Vogue, Vanity Fair, Self, Allure, Conde Nast Traveler, HG and House and Garden before the initials, and a few others, too. Also on The New Yorker, although that was sort of not at Conde, as you know. At Time, I worked on HBO, CNN, Turner Classics, Time itself, and all the Martha stuff.

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Jane Pratt's avatar

I love how much we speak the same language (although you speak it much more eloquently than I do). Such as when you said "House and Garden, before the initials." That made me laugh.

It looks like we didn't overlap at any publishers, but I am also a single mom supporting myself with writing and editing. So lots in common.

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