Melissa Kirsch

December 29, 2021

At Home and Away Readers’ Best of 2021

What you read, watched, cooked and did this year. Welcome. Last week, my colleagues and I shared our best of 2021, the movies and music, pastimes […]
December 24, 2021

At Home and Away’s Best of 2021

What we watched, read, listened to and cooked this year. Welcome. When my streaming music service of choice fed me its annual report of my most-listened-to […]
December 22, 2021

How We’re Holding It Together

“Always expect reversals.” Welcome. Back in the spring, when we changed the name of this newsletter from “At Home” to “At Home and Away,” we did […]
December 17, 2021

What to Do This Weekend

Shop your closet, feed your fruitcake. Welcome. Here we are, again: holidays in the time of Covid. There are two weeks left in 2021, two weeks […]
December 15, 2021

The Winter Solstice Approaches

Soon, the days will grow longer. Welcome. The winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere will occur next week, on Dec. 21. Here in New York, there […]
December 10, 2021

What to Do This Weekend

Any big plans? Welcome. Any big plans for the weekend? I’ve been thinking about that question, a staple of workplace chitchat, at once an invitation to […]
December 8, 2021

Catharsis Songs

Big feelings, big playlist. Welcome. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the release that songs like Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” provide. I […]
December 1, 2021

Getting Better at Uncertainty

It’s not easy, but it’s familiar. Welcome. It was midway through Thanksgiving dinner when my phone buzzed with The Times’s push alert about the new variant. […]
November 26, 2021

What to Do This Weekend

Eat leftovers, take stock. Welcome. Let’s talk about leftovers. It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and while I have been looking forward to spending the day with […]
November 24, 2021

Thanksgiving, This Year vs. Last

Here’s what our readers have planned. Welcome. Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving, and whether you’re celebrating at home, away or not at all, it’s likely that this year’s holiday […]