Book Review: A Flicker in the Dark
Another debut! A Flicker in the Dark is Stacy Willingham’s debut thriller novel and I loved it. Set in a small Louisiana town, this story had me thinking eventually that I knew exactly “who done it”, and then completely flipped the script. I love unpredictable tales.
Chloe Davis was a twelve-year-old girl when her father was arrested for murder and identified as the serial killer responsible for the recent deaths of many teenage girls in this small town. Twenty years later, a fifteen-year-old girl goes missing, and all of the memories of her father and the previous murders come rushing back.
Chloe, due to her pill addiction, is thought to be an unreliable narrator. She begins to gaslight and second-guess herself, which of course makes us wonder, what is the truth? Did she make all this up in her head? We know from scientific studies that memory is fallible, but is Chloe’s even more so than others?
I didn’t find the characters necessarily lovable in this mystery like I did Molly the Maid from my previous review, but I did love the story. It is nuanced, and Chloe truly does try to attack solving this mystery from every angle she can think of, which introduces us to new characters, and new storylines that help weave this web.
Not only did I love the unpredictable reveal of the perpetrator, but I also loved that unpredictable ending to Chloe’s story. It was both not what I would have wanted for her, but also so beautiful and maybe what she needs in the end.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves murderous thrillers, the charming Louisiana south, and realistic looks at the human experience when it comes to love, in all forms.
A Surprisingly Delicious Quick Breakfast Recipe
Okay!
I promised recipes so here’s one!
I found this and was like “Okay, I’ll try it, but it’ll probably be bland.” Boy was I wrong! Who knew a little salt and basil went such a long way!
All you need:
A skillet
Olive oil
2 eggs
Low-fat milk
Smoked Salmon
A ripe avocado
Salt
Fresh basil
Beat the eggs with 1 teaspoon of the low-fat milk and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in your pan over medium heat. Once pan in hot and ready, add the eggs and cook until the bottom is set and the center is still a bit runny, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the omelet and then cook for another 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate and then top with smoked salmon, sliced avocado, and 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil. Drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil. Enjoy!
Living with Crohn’s
Hello friends!
Life has been life-ing, as I am sure you all know. The world feels like it is crumbling on the daily, our democracy in America is gradually being dismantled, and personally, I’ve had to make some major life changes for my health, so feels like now is as good a time as any to share with y’all. Maybe some other folks dealing with similar things may find this helpful or encouraging. I’m open about these things, always have been, so for some, my condition may not be surprising, but if you don’t know, now you know.
I have Crohn’s Disease.
I’ve lived with it for about eighteen years, and have always considered myself lucky that my chronic illness is mild compared to others I know. I’ve never had major surgeries to remove any of my organs, or even parts of them. I am still on good days, able-bodied, and I have more good days than bad. I don’t take any of that for granted. And yet, at the same time, I think that way of thinking has led me to, for the most part, live eating and drinking whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, with little consequence (minus the occasionally flare ups that are very unpleasant). However, that is now changing.
I am very diligent about my health. I go to routine appointments for my medicine infusions and my follow ups with my gastroenterologist. I look at my bloodwork results and course correct, even though no one ever calls me with concerns. (I once noticed my LDL levels were high, looked up what that meant and causes, and realized it was the result of way too much microwave popcorn, so I cut that out immediately.) My body doesn’t take well to iron, so I rarely eat red meat (bye bye steaks, bacon, and beef burgers). I try to stay on top of my daily vitamins and supplements (still a work in progress - fellow IBD folks, if you haven’t chatted with your doctor or nutritionist about Forvia, I highly recommend you do so. It’s a life changer).
All of that above to say, my recent bloodwork wasn’t as good as I expected. I know, I shouldn’t be surprised. All those years of college parties and pandemic shut down drinking, and the diet of McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches, burgers, and pizza have caught up to me, and while it may not be a huge concern yet, I’m okay if I’m overreacting. I’d rather prevent things from getting worse to the point where they are very concerning. My liver needs time to heal, my kidneys need to not get to a status of disease, and my mom’s side of my family has a history of diabetes, so, I have stopped drinking, increased my water intake, and am strictly on a mediterranean diet, which isn’t too off from what I eat normally anyways. I also started working out more. Once or twice a week was not cutting it, and I’ve been trying to lose this shut down weight for a while. (Shout out to Mia Vivens, the best friend and trainer you could ever ask for.)
So far, I feel so much more energetic and better in the gut. I don’t wake up bloated or feeling like shit after sharing a bottle of wine with my husband the night before, or a few bottles with family, as we often did. So if you are still a drinker, prepare to be getting lots of good bottles of wine from me for special occasion gifts. I am looking forward to seeing what my bloodwork looks like in July, and how my body looks and feels by then too.
I’ll post an update then, and in the meantime, I may occasionally share some really good recipes that I love. My friend Nick came over last week and made the tastiest cabbage wedge I have ever had, and let me tell ya, ya boi is hooked! If you have any good recipes to share, feel free to comment them my way below!
Until next time!
Thoughts. In A One Sentence Story.
One of my favorite theatre companies here in Chicago is A Red Orchid Theatre. I can go into details of why at a later date, but one of the reasons that is relevant to this entry is because of a thing we do just about every Monday called Studio. We get together for three hours and talk, share work, share stories, ask questions, and be in community with one another. I haven’t been in some time for various reasons, but this past Monday I went because I promised a friend I would do my best to be there. It was a smaller group, but I had missed some of those folks dearly so it was good to be there. The friend that I had made the promise to, shared a one sentence story she had written and it was so viscerally beautiful. I would like to try that exercise below. I don’t consider myself a very gifted writer, but I’m not afraid of trying something and keep learning and growing because that’s all we can do is practice, so here goes…
2020 was a hell of a year, and saying it was because of the Covid-19 pandemic is, to me, an oversimplification, because there is way too much wrapped up into that long period of time in isolation away from friends and family, where we had nothing to do but sit with ourselves, even among the endless bingeing of TV and film, video games, reading books, yoga classes, Zoom calls, and braving the outside to get our essentials from our local grocery stores, filled with long lines of masked, socially distanced folks;
when we weren’t doing those things, we sat with our thoughts, and mine were filled with moving out of my condo with my boyfriend at the time (now husband) as soon as possible so we could put it on the market for sale and buy a house somewhere in the city that we could afford (surprise we ended up in the suburbs because housing prices in the city continue to price folks out of affordable housing), while also realizing that I was burnt out from work and didn’t even know it, so while friends and peers were grieving the loss of our industry in the arts, I was in a surreal twilight zone of vacation, until I wasn’t; once the boredom sat in, then came the loneliness, and then the realization that I missed being around black people, something I hadn’t had since my freshman year of high school when my parents moved us from Indianapolis to West Chester, something I had never had in my career and didn’t realize I was missing and wanting, and then came the depression and the desperate desire of something that I still couldn’t have just yet because hundreds of thousands of people were dying and we still had no vaccines and leaving the house was scary;
months of sickness and death and playing through the last of us and last of us 2 were finally lifted when vaccines arrived almost a year later, and we were relieved, and theatre started trying to re-emerge, but then Omicron came, so we all got shut down again, hoping this wasn’t going to be another year of shit, and then finally 2022 allowed us to gather with safety precautions and performances were revived, but things looked different - things never fully recovered - things were never “back to normal” again; and they still aren’t, even though we all try to act like they are, because survival is all we have sometimes, as we push on and push through and search for what it means to be thriving; 2022 let me have my job back and I did get my first all black production in 2023 and my second the summer of 2024 and I still want more - more shows with black people, more community with black people, more meaningful friendships with black people because I love black people and there is a sense of belonging and welcoming and communing and joy and peace and collectiveness that just doesn’t exist in other spaces when you are the only one or the other and it’s like exhaling a deep breath that you’ve been holding in for decades without even realizing it and we don’t need another instance of I Can’t Breathe;
we need to be each other’s keepers, hold each other close, love on each other deeply, keep telling our stories and make our art and live softly and joyfully because that is the best resistance and that is the kind of love I want to give and receive and surround myself with as much as possible for the rest of my days.
What Now?
If you are anything like me, the past two weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions. I have felt furious, miserable, scared, and found moments of joy when I unplug and disassociate. I took a week away from news and social media, and then felt guilty for doing so and not feeling like a responsible informed citizen of society. Only to come back and start the whole cycle of emotions all over again.
But then I came across a thread from sociologist Jennifer Walter, and that helped a ton. I am going to share it below and highlight the phrases in bold that I found most helpful.
“Your overwhelm is the goal. The flood of 200+ executive orders in Trump’s first days exemplifies Naomi Klein’s “shock doctrine” using chaos and crisis to push through radical changes while people are too disoriented to effectively resist. This isn’t just politics as usual - it’s a strategic exploitation of cognitive limits. Media theorist McLuhan predicted this: when humans face information overload, they become passive and disengaged. The rapid fire executive orders create a cognitive bottleneck, making it nearly impossible for citizens and media to thoroughly analyze any single policy. Agenda-setting theory explains this strategy: when multiple major policies complete for attention simultaneously, it fragments public discourse. Traditional media can’t keep up with the pace, leading to superficial coverage.
The result? Weekend democratic oversight and reduced public engagement.
So… what now?
Set boundaries. Pick 2 - 3 key issues you deeply care about and focus your attention there. You can’t track everything - that’s by design. Impact comes from sustained focus, not scattered awareness.
Use aggregators & experts. Find trusted analysts who do the heavy lifting of synthesis. Look for those explaining patterns, not just events.
Remember: feeling overwhelmed is the point. When you recognize this, you regain some power. Take breaks. Process. This is a marathon.
Practice going slow. Wait 48 hours before reacting to new policies. The urgent clouds the important. Initial reporting often misses context.
Build community. Share the cognitive load. Different people track different issues. Network intelligence beats individual overload.
Remember: They want you scattered. Your focus is resistance.
I hope this helps you as much as it helped me. Let me know in the comments what your 2 or 3 key issues are! I am still trying to pick my three, because my problem is I deeply care about everything, so it’s hard to choose. I’m currently leaning towards healthcare, climate change, and diversity & inclusion policies, but I will let y’all know once I decide. And you’ll be able to tell based on what I post on my socials.
Stay well, stay safe, take care of each other.
Post-Election Thoughts
I have a lot of them, but here are the most important ones for me right now:
We are going to have to lean on each other and our communities as much as possible. Do what you can, ask for what you need. We must take care of each other.
Our education system has failed us. I don’t know how to fix it, but I know that literacy rates for adults are low. I know that not everyone has the same access to information. Critical thinking is so important, and yet so many people seem to lack this skill.
I am struggling with my natural ability to have empathy for individuals and the collective, while also being very angry and sad.
My door is always open.
If you are at a place to listen, please remember to do so not to respond, but to understand.
Last Week with John Oliver tonight is one hell of a show if you have access to it via max or some other way.
I love you.
Book Review: The Maid
Hello! It’s been a month! I recently had my first officiant experience and had the honor of marrying my best friend and her now husband, my friend Jeffrey! Lots of wedding activities and tasks leading up to the day, as I was also one of the bridesmaids lol. A time was had, and now, back to work and business as usual.
I figured catching up on some reading and giving my thoughts on my latest favorite would be a good light read, so here goes!
The Maid, a debut novel by Canadian author Nita Prose, is a great read! It’s a wonderful refreshing spin on the classic “who done it” mystery tale. Molly Gray, our wonderful neurospicy narrator is a maid in a classic art deco style hotel. You might even say, she’s the best maid in the hotel. Meticulous, thorough, and polite, she over time becomes friends with one of the guests, a beautiful young woman named Giselle, married to the infamous old mean business mogul (who is not so nice to Molly), Mr. Black. One morning, while coming in to clean Mr. Black’s suite, Molly walks in and finds him dead on the bed, with Giselle nowhere to be found. Even worse, Molly then becomes a suspect! And so we are thrown into a delightful murder mystery filled with twists, turns, and not-so-savory characters.
Molly is my favorite character by far. She is very aware of her mannerisms and how they sometimes come across to those around her, yet her earnestness is what makes her such a reliable narrator throughout the book. While the book follows the classic mystery plot trope, the characters are diverse, and feel very real, and their own personality traits and actions definitely kept me guessing what was going to happen next.
I will say, I personally didn't like the twist at the end, but I can’t say why without giving things away, so if you have also read this book and would like to chat, you know where to find me!
And for those who have not read yet, I highly recommend it if you are a lover of mysteries with lots of players, love, and refreshing neurodivergent narrators. 9/10 Stars!
Theatre Review: Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
This past week, I visited DC for a whole seven days. I hadn’t been since I was a kid and my husband had a work conference there, so I tagged along for a little vacation for myself. I was so glad that I happened to be there while the regional tour of Jocelyn Bioh’s Broadway hit was playing at Arena Stage (it’s first stop of three). My friend Melanie was in it and so was the wonderful Tiffany Renee Johnson so I was glad to celebrate our Chicago ladies. I had no idea what I was getting in to, and so happy to report that the experience start to finish had me beaming!
Arena Stage in DC has pay your age tickets for anyone under 35, which was great for me because the prices had gone up by the time I went to buy mine. I loved this initiative towards making theatre more accessible and the box office was so kind and helpful. Once we got our tickets, we headed to the bar where we could choose from a plethora of themed cocktails. I got The Kinky Twist, which was tequila-based and aptly named for the hairstyle I was currently rocking. It came in a big cup and I saw the bartender give me a big pour, so I knew I was gonna be lit. The show is 90 minutes, no intermission, which we love. And DC is so blackity-black, it made me so happy to be in a theatre full of folks that look like me, seeing a show telling a story about folks like us.
For those who don’t know, the play centers around an African hair braiding shop in Harlem NYC, and the women who work there. All African immigrants, including the owner, Jaja, get to put their two cents into each others’ business, and we get to hear each of their stories throughout the course of the play, as they braid the hair of women belonging to the African diaspora. This play had us cracking up! It covers all the stereotypes of black women customers and our African aunties and will have you nearly falling out of your seat.
I didn’t see the show on Broadway, but set designer David Zinn created a beautiful playground for Arena, which I assume was as close to his original as possible in a new space. The border around the shop reminded me of the photos on hair products and lookbooks from back in the 90s. And it transitioned seamlessly from outside to inside the shop, and back. Lighting designer Jiyoun Chang added to the set with bright colorful hues of pink, yellow, blue, and I’m sure others that I didn't catch because I was so excited and mesmerized as the set changed for the first time. The Afrobeats selected by sound designer Justin Ellington had us all grooving and singing along in our seats when we knew the tune. Some of the music was original. And the Nollywood films executed by video designer Stefania Bulbarella, and actors Onye Eme-Akwari and Morgan Scott were the perfect touch to this braiding shop atmosphere, and utilized well throughout the play’s transitions and storytelling. And the wigs! Nikiya Mathis did the damn thing. Each one has its own personality y’all. They should have a showcase all on their own when this run is over. I loved every one and I could tell the artists had a fun time using them to enhance their character’s personality.
I’m not going to comment on each actor individually because they all stood out. Truly. This cast was so well put together and they all held each other up. Melanie Brezill, Colby N. Muhammad, and Yao Dogbe played multiple characters and each one was so distinctly different and they each played them so so well! Dialect coach Yetunde Fekix-Ukwu did such a fabulous job helping our African sisters and brother stand out, as the characters were not all from the same countries, and the actors hit the marks on the different sounds for each one beautifully.
This story has a lot of comedy and a lot of heart, and is so worth it for a night out, so get your tickets now! The next stop is Berkeley Rep, and then home here to Chicago at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. I might have to see it again, and I’m going to encourage as many of you as I can to join me. It’s definitely not one to be missed.
Things I Wish I Could Tell You
Hey there! My name is Whitney, and I am a lot of things: an avid reader, a human living with Crohn’s Disease, an actor, and a baker. I love cooking, playing games of all kinds, mixology, traveling, learning new languages, singing, dancing, and catching up on stuff on both the big and small screens. And I can do all of these things alone, but I enjoy doing them with folks I enjoy spending time with by throwing a ridiculous random party more. Simply put, I am a jack of all trades, master of none. And honestly, that’s probably what this “blog” will be, if you can even call it that. A smattering of my two cents on all the things that make me… me! Or something like that. I plan to have entries labeled in sections so that if you don’t want to subscribe, but still are interested in what I have to say, you can visit at your leisure and read the things you want and not have to be bothered with the things you don’t – or if you wanna read it all, I sure ain’t gonna stop ya.
As a Scorpio, I often get the “Whitney, I can’t figure you out, you’re so mysterious” comment. And while I sometimes am amused by the intrigue of wanting to figure me out, I also recognize that makes it hard to get to know me because I am quite the introvert until I trust you. SO, with that being said, this is my way of opening up and seeing how it goes. Maybe as a result, next time you see me in person, you can use it as a good ice breaker. “Hey! I read your post about how much you can’t stand Taylor Swift. Me either! Wanna grab a drink and chat about it?” I’ll probably say no, but at least now you know something about me and maybe that can open the door to chat about other things, and then by the end of our conversation, we’ll already be two or three drinks in and have ended the conversation full circle about how Taylor Swift is annoying and her music is the same and there is nothing appealing to me about a thirty-something-year-old still giving off the image of a sixteen-year-old-girl, but to each their own and hey now we are friends!
Look, I don’t trust people easily, that’s really the gist of it, but I’m working on it, because honestly, I love community. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. I am just really bad at small talk so ice breakers are not my thing. Remember above how I said I’m a Scorpio? Yeah, we’re also known for being intense. I may have a short response if you ask me how I am doing, but I can talk for hours about dating after thirty, or family memories that make us smile, religious views, books we’re obsessed with, what we love about making art and what we hate about making art, why our partners drive us crazy, but why we love them more. You know, the deep shit. The shit that connects us. That’s the shit I’m interested in. What lights you up. What pisses you the fuck off. A story about your best friend from middle school and how you wish you never lost touch. I’m tired of seeing someone before the doors open at a theatre and catching up is limited to “How are you? Are you in a show right now?” Instead, I wish it was “What is something good that happened to you today? What are you looking forward to? What are you struggling with if anything right now?” but I also know that’s not realistic when you run into someone at Front Bar ten minutes before a 7pm curtain. So, here’s a smattering of things I want to tell you, but am too afraid to because I’m still insecure about how deep I can go in a single conversation when you are secretly wishing we just stayed with the small talk.
Jokes aside, I hope you enjoy my endeavor to work on being more articulate and friendly and a little less mysterious.