The Potent Fuel of Heartbreak 💔

Emmy Olea on rewriting her book in 10 days

Hello Bleeders!

I just got back from vacay a couple days ago. I got freaking ENGAGED on Tuesday night. And now I’m trying to dig my way out of an email avalanche that hit while I was away. I aspire to be like those nihilists with an autoreply that reads: F*ck you, I’m going to delete all this shit and start fresh when I get back. But alas, I’m a square who only flakes with a lot of residual Catholic guilt.

In happier news, the second “Work in Progress” episode featuring Emmy Olea just dropped, and it’s delicious.

I first discovered Emmy's writing through her podcast Crumbs about Emmy's dating experiences as a trans woman recovering from alcoholism whose mom was a coyote and whose grandma ran drugs for the Tijuana cartel. It's a wild story so well-written and poignantly told. When I learned that Crumbs was actually just a sliver of her larger memoir, I knew I had to have her on for the “Work in Progress” series.

We dig into Emmy, Like the Award — which even has an endorsement from Russell Brand — her incredible story of getting it on the page, and where she's at in the publishing process. Plus, you’ll hear Emmy read an excerpt complete with sound design.

Here’s a lil preview of how she turned a breakup into a new draft of her book:

“So I get to Barcelona, and I'm depressed about my breakup. I'm not having a good time — and I find this little nook in this Airbnb that we were staying in, and I just grabbed my laptop, and I said, 'I'm going to rewrite this book here.' And that's what I did. I rewrote it in Barcelona for the whole time that I was there.”

Where I write:

I'm asking each guest to give us a peek behind the scenes. And hello, Barcelona rewrite nook — I need to get the info for this magical Airbnb!!

Episode links:

🏃‍♀️ Follow Emmy on Instagram @emmyolea11.

🍪 Check out Emmy’s FANTASTIC podcast Crumbs. She’s the whole cookie, but dang, her podcast is good!

🎧 And, of course, pop in those earbuds and listen to Work in Progress: Emmy Olea on “Emmy, Like the Award” on your favorite podcast platform.

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As my brain melts trying to sort through a sea of emails that all start exactly the same, enjoy the world’s most interesting thread on homogeneity:

David Perell @david_perell

What's causing all these logos to look the same?

Until next time, HAPPY BLEEDING!

So… ROLL CALL! 🗣️

Do YOU have a work in progress? If so, drop a quick note about your project in the comments.

Let’s connect on social media! I’m at @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.