I usually have two to three books going at once. One is usually something on personal growth — or just educating myself on some topic, or something I picked up because it sounded inspiring. Sometimes I read it in one go. Sometimes I put it down for weeks.

Then I usually have one distraction book, the one that lives on my bed — I started keeping it there to break the doomscrolling habit before sleep, and it kind of works.

Whatever I'm reading, I often find myself looking for inspiration, or something I can dive a little deeper into, maybe even something worth passing on. Especially since I started this blog, even though I don't do it on purpose. I just do it.

That's what this column is for. Bookmarks: short pieces on whatever I'm reading, that I think is worth mentioning.

The Book

My latest distraction read was Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus — the story of Elizabeth Zott, a research chemist in 1960s California who, after being pushed out of the lab, ends up as the reluctant star of a TV cooking show she runs like a chemistry class.

I really enjoyed it. If you haven't read it yet, I'd recommend it — it's the kind of book that's easy to fly through, and it stays with you longer than you'd expect from something that reads so fast.

Reading through it, there was a lot going on, but nothing really stuck out for this blog. I was just along for the ride, and then, right near the end, one small sentence caught my attention.

"Take a moment to recommit."

That's it. No elaborate scene around it, no big speech. Just a small, quiet instruction, dropped in at a moment when a character isn't sure they're still on the right path.

I think it's the most "momentum" sentence in the whole book, and it's not about pushing harder or trying not to fall off course. It's about the fact that you will feel off course sometimes, no matter what you're building — and that the move isn't panic, it's a breather and a decision to get back on. Recommit, not restart.

That distinction matters to me. Momentum was never going to be a straight line, in any part of life. Some days it slows, some days it stalls completely. The recommit instinct — pausing long enough to choose the path again, instead of assuming the pause means you've lost it — feels like the actual skill underneath all of this.

It's such a small sentence that it's almost easy to read past it. But it's the kind of line I want to actually carry with me, not just nod at. When I catch myself unsure whether I'm still on the right path with something — this blog included — I don't think the answer is to overhaul the plan or push harder. It's closer to what the line says: take a moment, notice where you are, and recommit to the direction rather than to any specific version of how you thought it would look. That's a small enough ask that I can actually keep doing it.

On Elizabeth Zott

I have mixed feelings about Elizabeth as a character. She's committed and dedicated to who she is — sometimes a little odd about it — more sure than most people I know. And yet her momentum is never really about knowing herself. She always feels so strongly that she's right, which is sometimes a little annoying. But even then, her clarity was never the problem. The world she had to move through was.

There's something both admirable and quietly enraging about watching someone that certain keep getting slowed down by things that had nothing to do with her ability.

It's hard to read her story and not think about how much of that is still true, and how much has changed. The book sits inside a bigger conversation about women in their lives and in the workplace, and how hard-fought the ground so many of us now stand on actually was. That's a bigger topic than one Bookmarks post can hold — I may come back and give it its own space at some point. For now, I'll just say: read it, and pay attention to how often her competence isn't the obstacle, how dedicated she is, and nonetheless how she consistently chooses to recommit — and how inspiring that can be.

What Now?

If you're in a stretch where things feel off — not fully off track, but not fully on it either — that's not a failure, it's just information. Take a moment. Recommit. You don't need a grand plan to get back on track. Whatever that looks like for you, it's enough.

For what it's worth, there is also a series, I haven't watched it myself but if you do, let me know what you think! 

This is just the beginning ☀️

Inspired By:

• Bonnie Garmus — Lessons in Chemistry (2022)