One Year of 18 Uncles

An update and a huge 'Thank You'

It’s often said that the older we get, the more life accelerates. The years pick up momentum, months blurring by the window of a moving train as we wave at loved ones we got to be with for a painfully short spell. When I was in Spain, I moved to a new city every single year and became acutely aware of how quickly the four seasons can pass. The first months in a new situation are spent finding one’s feet and building routines. The middle months slid by, and before I knew it, I’d be staring at the final few months in a city I had grown to love. 

I knew that’d be how this year would go. 

I started 18 Uncles on July 1st, 2023. Three-hundred-sixty-four days later, forty-four posts later, and after seven hundred forty-plus email subscriptions, hundreds of heartwarming messages of support, five road trips, one flight to Zurich, countless cups of coffee, too much chewing tobacco, half a dozen Eagle River drives to watch hockey, hundreds of family texts, dozens of phone calls, a few sleepovers and slow mornings in kitchens with aunties and cousins, more family dinners than I’ve ever had in my life, twenty-odd uncle saunas, ice fishing, the hunting camp, the gun range, two Christmas parties, three graduation parties, two—and counting—cousin weddings, and many slow evening cups of tea with my mother, 18 Uncles is one year old. 

The most rewarding-frightening-ambitious-lunatic thing I’ve ever embarked on started one year ago today. And I’m not the same person. For one, I have all of my uncles’ phone numbers and most of my aunties’ too. And I remember all of my hundred-plus cousins’ first names—a feat I’m pretty darn proud of. 

After one year of writing, searching, and swimming through the metaphorical fog that is ‘18 Uncles: The Book,’ I’m finally starting to get the vision. The writers' conference in May was extremely helpful. Listening to lectures on the industry, receiving tips on how to get published, and speaking with an agent were all very clarifying. 

I’m currently working on a query letter and a book proposal, which is a summary and pitch document agents send to publishers to get a deal. 

The big question floating in my mind is: what did I learn?

Of course, I learned a ton about my family and my uncles as individuals, but what did I learn about life? What did I learn about America and fatherhood? What did I learn about my dad? 

And how do I boil down 18 Uncles to a three-sentence book blurb? How do I convey what the heck the book will be in three. freaking. sentences?

That’s where I’m at. That’s what’s on my mind as I’m drifting off to sleep, sipping my morning coffee, doing deadlifts at the gym, and making old fashions behind the bar at Gino’s. What did I learn, and how do I whittle it into three concise sentences? 

One year… It blew by… as I knew it would. The tentative plan for the future is—and has always been—to get on a plane in the fall and return to Europe to write my butt off and get a manuscript done. 

So that means I have three more months in the Keweenaw, three more months in Michigan, and three more months in America. 

The blogs will continue, and hopefully with even greater consistency. There’s still a lot to be written and a lot to be said. There are still six uncle posts to come. And I have five other blogs at various levels of completion. 

And I’ll be posting chapter previews, blogs, and musings throughout the fall, winter, and next spring. 

There are a lot of unknowns. But by the end of this year, I’ll have more answers as to publishing options and the future—and in the perfect scenario, a book deal. 

In the meantime, I have to extend a massive heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to all of you who take the time to read and support the work. It means everything and keeps me going. 

If I wasn’t doing the blog and had just been quietly attempting to write a book in the background, I would have already thrown in the towel. 

Without you reading this now, I honestly would have given up months ago, overwhelmed, overworked, and without the finances or vision to see it all through to the end. 

The reads and the comments are the wind at my back as I try to climb this mountain, unsure of the path but putting one foot in front of the other. 

The private messages of encouragement get me through the dark days of doubt. 

The warm interactions about the writing at church, graduation parties, weddings, the gas station, or the grocery store reaffirm my conviction that I’m doing something worthwhile which is connecting with my fellow humans.

And the paid subscribers are the fuel that allows me to keep dreaming of someday getting to the mountaintop. It’s a really hard thing to ask for money in exchange for art. But if you’re not yet a paid subscriber and can afford the five dollars a month, I’d greatly appreciate the upgrade. 

And as always, if you would like full access to read all the blogs but can’t afford the subscription, send me a message, and I can give you an upgrade for free—no questions asked. 

I’m so incredibly thankful for every ounce of support. 

It’s all extremely helpful for year two of 18 Uncles and beyond. 

Thank You. 

Thank you for allowing this Yooper-Banger-Gone-Bad-hippy-vegan-millennial to dream, live this life, drive around the country visiting family, and write. 

Thank You.

18 Uncles is one year old, but it is still just getting started.

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