Trying New Hobbies in 2025
Plus, a debut memoir that everyone should read
Listen to me read the post above. ⬆️ (Apologies for the audio quality!)
Notes from a Kindred Spirit is a bi-weekly newsletter about embracing curiosity, exploring hobbies, living with chronic illness, and finding contentment in the everyday.
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Hi friends,
Here we are at the end of February!
I don’t know about you, but it’s been a busy month for me.
One of the highlights was celebrating my 32nd birthday. We ordered takeout from my favourite restaurant—pizza and pistachio cannolis for dessert—and I treated myself to some birthday cupcakes from a local shop.
My husband and I also had tickets to “A Night at the Movies” concert featuring a tenor singer, an a cappella chorus, and a barbershop quartet. It was a great show, and they capped the evening off with “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing!
The cherry on top of the weekend was that I was spoiled with lots of bookish gifts from family. They know me so well!
What I shared in February…
Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada, I was lucky enough to receive an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this debut memoir by Canadian writer Kate Gies. It left a big impression, and I want everyone to read this book!
It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished by Kate Gies | Memoir | Published in 2025
In this moving debut memoir, Kate Gies writes about being born missing an ear and the insistence of the medical system that they can “fix” her. In the span of nine years, she underwent fourteen surgeries that left a lasting impact on her and her parents.
In short vignettes, Kate writes about medical trauma, the impact of the healthcare system on her sense of self, and questions what having a societally acceptable body really means.
My Thoughts
I dog-eared and bookmarked so many pages in this memoir.
As someone who has lived with a chronic illness since I was an infant, many passages in this book resonated with me. This also made it a tough and emotional read. My medical situation is nothing like Kate’s, but the way she writes about doctor appointments, surgeries, and hospital stays is so relatable.
Setting aside my personal connection to the subject matter, Kate asks some important questions about the medical system and society at large.
Does being born different mean you aren’t whole? What makes a body acceptable, and who gets to decide that?
These are questions we should all be asking as we strive for a future free of ableism, medical trauma, and body oppression.
I know I’ll think of this memoir often, and I hope to read more of Kate Gies’ work in the future.
Trigger warnings: medical content, medical trauma, miscarriage, sexual content, bullying, emotional abuse
I love experimenting with new hobbies, so I took a 5-week Qigong class that wrapped up in mid-February. I’d never done Qigong before and had only briefly tried Tai Chi, but I quit because I didn’t like the instructor—that really can make all the difference!
I enjoyed the class overall, but my favourite part was the walking meditations! I tend to find traditional meditation difficult to do because I’m always trying to wrangle my thoughts.
But a walking meditation requires you to focus on following the specific step and breath pattern (especially if you’re a beginner), and you end up in a state of flow where your mind can’t as easily drift off to other things.
For example, in my favourite meditation, you:
inhale as you step forward with one foot
exhale twice (two short exhales through your nose) as you rock back on both feet
inhale as you rock forward
exhale twice as you step forward with the other foot
The Qigong class was such a calm spot in my week, and I enjoyed learning something new!
Have you tried any new hobbies in the first 2 months of 2025? I’d love to hear about it! Did you learn anything new? Are you going to stick with it or try something else?
📺 Very exciting news for fans of L.M. Montgomery and Megan Follows!
📢 Important PSA: Stop using “at least” to comfort
📓 Danielle is here to remind us that we can’t “ruin” a notebook
🧁 Sally McKenney, aka the Queen of Baking, has a new cookbook available for pre-order!
💤 For my fellow Kindred Spirits who struggle with sleep, try some breathwork recordings or my favourite sleep stories podcast.
Over to you! Have you tried any new hobbies in 2025, or maybe you’ve returned to an old one? Hit reply to this email and let me know, or leave a comment!
P.S. I have 3 digital products available in the Notion Marketplace!
📚 BOOK CLUB HUB for the book club host who wants to organize their club with ease so they can focus on the fun part—reading good books and chatting about them with friends! It’s perfect for small to medium virtual or in-person clubs.
📖 CURATED BOOK LISTS for the book club host or bookworm who doesn’t know what to read next.
🎁 GIFT PLANNER & TRACKER to help you organize birthday and holiday shopping and stay on budget.
I've been slow-reading and annotating (working on Pride and Prejudice currently, and also just finished Anne of Green Gables!) and making zines and collages. The reading isn't exactly new, but slowing down with it and taking the time to add tabs and marginalia has been so fun. And I'm new to both zines and collages, and really love having something low-stakes to do with my hands.
A lovely newsletter, Cassandra. I've only done Qigong on YT or maybe a one off class. It is enjoyable. But yoga is my daily jam. My husband loves doing walking meditations. It sounds like you found something really nourishing for you in February.