Open Post

[kimberlysteele]

Hi everyone, I have decided to trim my writing schedule to essays every other week in order to make room for new books in the works. In more exciting news, I am in the process of writing my next book, Sacred Beauty. Like Sacred Homemaking (you can still pre-order it with the discount code SACRED20 until April 28, 2026) it is a non-fiction book about self-realization, but instead of being about the spirit of place, it is about the body as home for the soul.

I'm still coming up with ideas on what to do with my "off" weeks besides Open Post, and the first thing I would like to start is a book club. The book I'd like to discuss starting two weeks is a fiction book called The Mandibles: A Family, 2029 - 2047 by Lionel Shriver. The Mandibles centers around an American family who lives through the crash and devaluation of the US dollar and falls upon hard times. Shriver says of her own book that she wanted to write a near-future dystopia that she felt almost happened in 2008, saying that she believes we "dodged a bullet" at that time.

I read The Mandibles a couple of years ago and though I do not scare easily, I found it far more plausible than books in the dystopian genre such as The Handmaid's Tale or Brave New World, and that's why it sent chills down my spine. In the novel, the Mandible family is your average bunch of urbanites who live in Brooklyn and expect that all of their upper-middle class problems will be solved upon the death of the elder patriarch of the Mandible clan. The US dollar crashes and instead of an even easier life, they are plunged into Weimar Germany/Argentina in the early millennium conditions and must battle for luxuries they took for granted. A new currency called the bancor deliberately excludes the US, and US Treasury bonds are reset to zero, gutting the entire salary class overnight. The main nuclear Mandible family's extended relations move into a crowded Brooklyn house into the basement, and the former world-traveling eccentric aunt moves into the attic. They strike an uneasy peace as things get harder and harder. The young son gives up his beloved, loyal dog to a well-off neighbor who is moving away because he knows that if he keeps him, the dog is likely to be kidnapped and eaten. The beautiful cousin Savannah, who was set to go to a prestigious college, ends up becoming a high class teenage escort.

There's a great deal to talk about in the Mandibles, and I feel like it is a novel that is pertinent to our time, though hopefully it is not too close to our specific timeline!

In other news, the cats are doing well. Shadow always gets his fill of the telluric current when I do the Sphere of Protection every morning. The three outers are still outside. They have a heated cat condo and a heated water bowl and 3 square a day of wet food, very much thanks in part to my generous donors at BuyMeaCoffee/KimberlySteele.

Comments

[unicourtney]

The Mandibles piqued my interest. Maybe I will check my local Half Price Books for it. But let me check hoopla first…

[unicourtney]

How exciting! Hoopla actually allowed me to check it into my library. *dance dance* Thanks for the rec.

Happy reading!

[kimberlysteele]

I totally look forward to discussing it! Glad it was so easy to find.

[unicourtney]

Me too! I'm barely in it yet but it starts off strong. :D

[(Anonymous)]

The Mandibles timeline won't be too close to our timeline for at least one group of people. No Epstein Files and no Zionist takeover of the American government. The Jews in The Mandibles are probably safe in the United States, though a little poorer. Here in the real world we're probably looking at pograms and the expulsion of the Jews from the United States, and possibly a civil war if the Zionists and pedophiles still control the American government.

[kimberlysteele]

I don’t think Jewish expulsion will happen in the next 100 years. I do hope that any people who think that expelling the Jews will do any good take the example of the Holocaust into consideration. Personally, I believe the Jewish holocaust happened, though I’m going to bet the numbers were fewer than what was reported. As I have mentioned in other essays, whatever persecution was done to Jews in the Holocaust has been used as a battering ram ever since to make everyone feel disproportionately guilty for what happened to the Jews, even though what happened in Stalin’s Russia and Mao’s China was extremely similar, but in larger numbers.

[jasonhep]

Hi Kimberly. I remember reading The Mandibles a few years ago when it came out and, like you, found it scarily plausible. I seem to remember that the black sheep of the family, who was into conspiracy theories and prepping, came out the best of them all. Anyway, don't want to give any more away.

In other news, your book Sacred Homemaking arrived a few days ago here in the UK. It looks fab and I can't wait to dive in. No doubt I will also do a writeup about it on my SubStack soon.

[kimberlysteele]

Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to re-reading The Mandibles and discussing it with you all. I don't believe the US will have as steep or sudden a decline as it lays out, but it's always good to be prepared if something similar does happen. I look forward to hearing your opinion of Sacred Homemaking! You'll likely read the physical copy before I do as I have not yet gotten my author copies! And thank you in advance if you end up doing a write up.

[jasonhep]

Sorry to hear you have not yet got your author copies - I feel slightly guilty about getting mine so soon! I have noticed that recently things turn up in the mail before they are supposed to. Not sure why.

I'm already a quarter of the way through Sacred Homemaking. I actually found myself cleaning our toilet late at night yesterday, and talking to the shower this morning. Am really enjoying it - it feels so positive and uplifting. The house we live in is an old Victorian terrace over four floors. My wife and I have spent the last 13 years renovating it and - for a lot of that time - I've been heard to bitterly complain about 'that bloody house'. There always seem to be multiple problems with it, such as a leaking roof, damp basement, a broken window, a collapsed ceiling ... and so on. However, with a mass clearout of junk, fresh decor and a realignment of how I view our home, things have improved markedly.

I'll post a link when I do a writeup on my substack: https://magicmountain.substack.com/

[(Anonymous)]

Are Oghams also every two weeks now? I see you haven't posted one yet this week and it's Saturday.

[kimberlysteele]

No, I simply forgot because I came home last night in a mini-tornado (yay Illinois) and I received my own books in the mail, so I am extending the reading request time this weekend.

your book arrived

[(Anonymous)]

Hi!

Got it last week here in the UK, but haven't started reading yet! Just skimmed a few bits

Before I saw your open post I was going to suggest to keep or start an open post just about your book? In case people have questions, want to know more about something, etc?...but maybe need to wait until everybody receives their copy & has time to read it ... what say you? ;P

As it is an open post and you're one of the few people that watches current videos and such I wanted to ask if you had or were planning to write about P White...but I understand if it's too much in the crossroads of politics etc...I saw a couple of short videos and wasn't sure if it was just rubbish or tv type of thing or if there were darker things lurking somewhere...anyhow...

thanks again for your readings! Even if I have missed it again :(

J

[sirustalcelion]

I bought an audiobook version (the only time I can read a novel is while commuting but I need my hands and eyes for that!) and hope I can be part of this book club!

The first few chapters have been interesting so far.

[(Anonymous)]

"The young son gives up his beloved, loyal dog to a well-off neighbor who is moving away because he knows that if he keeps him, the dog is likely to be kidnapped and eaten."

If you find yourself in a similar situation to the Mandibles what's going to happen to your cats?