Rachel Del's Blog

Just dropping in to share a quick thought because it’s been swimming around in my head, and the only thing I can do to rid myself of these kinds of repetitive, sometimes disruptive thoughts is to write them down.

A few years after I moved to Las Vegas, I was back in Canada visiting my family and dug out my boxes of old journals from storage in my parents’ basement. I don’t quite know what it was that led me to do this ( maybe it was some kind of fear that they would be found and read), but I...

I’ve read widely so far this year: some YA, a couple memoirs, even a holiday romance. But nothing that has blown me away—not in the sense that I held the book to my chest once I was finished, the way I have in the past.

When I finished reading Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King, a little disappointed compared to how I felt after fawning all over Writers & Lovers in 2020, I knew that what I read next needed to make me feel a specific way. I needed to read something I knew I would love. And s...

This evening marks ten years since I left Canada and moved to Las Vegas. I’ve been vacillating between a lot of different feelings regarding this milestone, but what I mostly gravitate toward is gratitude.

I am grateful that I took a leap of faith for love. I am grateful for my husband taking that same leap with me. I am forever grateful for those of you who helped me adjust to Las Vegas, and—despite how awkward and, frankly, aloof and shy I was in the beginning—made leaving my friends and fa...

I didn’t talk about books here on the blog much last year. I didn’t talk about much of anything, actually. But we know I love books, and so, naturally, I wanted to share some of my favorite books I read in 2020.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett — there’s a reason this book is as popular as it is. I read The Mothers years ago and loved it, and TVH was even better.

Luster by Raven Leilani — I loved this book so much, even though it made me cringe often. So glad my twenties are long behind ...

This has been a tough, strange year, and when things get tough I reach for things that comfort me. This could explain the jump in my caffeine consumption (highly probable that my seven-year-old doing distance-learning from home has affected this as well), but it certainly explains why I’ve been spending my spare time reading—often re-reading. 

There are people out there who can’t stand the thought of reading a book they’ve already read (But there are SO many books out there to be read, why wo...

I’ve made a concerted effort to simplify my life this year. Among many other things, this pandemic and the subsequent quarantine have only further solidified the belief that I need to slow down, pull back, quiet down and simplify.

It began with things. Clothes I wasn’t wearing because I didn’t like the way they felt. Those extra just-in-case items that had been taking up space for years. Seconds and thirds of similar toys that my seven-year-old didn’t need (and barely played with anyway)—gift...

The office door opened slowly and I looked up from my computer screens
He slipped the piece of paper onto my desk
looking sheepish, sad.
I read the words, looked at his drawing.
What’s that face? I asked.
Those are my tears, he said. Because I miss grammy.
I pulled him tight against me. Me too, buddy. Me too.

xo,
rdg

“of all the senses, I think smell has to be the most incredible,” my husband said. I had quietly slipped a piece of chocolate into my mouth in the front seat of the car and our son immediately spoke up.

“smell and taste,” I said. “think about it; a man can walk past me and the smell of his cologne can make me think of my high school boyfriend. or you can slip a spoonful of seafood into your mouth and be reminded of a dish you ate on our honeymoon in Hawaii.”

he hummed in agreement, pressin...

There was Apartment, which I loved so intensely and immediately.

Untamed, which I continue to recommend to every woman I have encountered since reading it.

Writers & Lovers which I loved so much that I read it a second time six weeks later.

There was Abandon Me by Melissa Febos and Stray by Stephanie Danler read in quick succession. These two books broke something off inside of me that I was happy to part with.

The Vanishing Half and All Adults Here, both read in three sessions each,...

The last time I composed a list like this was two years ago. My mother and my best friend’s mother were still alive, no one had heard of Covid-19, and we were knee-deep in home renovations. Life, in hindsight, was much more simple, less sad.

When I awoke this morning I felt suddenly compelled to revisit these lists of mine, perhaps as a way to document this moment in time.

Here’s a little glimpse at life right now:

things I’ve loved lately.
the corona correspondences via sewanee review
l...