Courtney Maum is the author of the novels Costalegre (a GOOP book club pick and one of Glamour Magazine’s top books of the decade), I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You, and Touch (a New York Times Editor’s Choice and NPR Best Book of the Year selection), and the handbook Before and After the Book Deal: A writer’s guide to finishing, publishing, promoting, and surviving your first book, from Catapult. Her writing has been widely published in such outlets as the New York Times, O, the Oprah Magazine, and Poets & Writers. She is the founder of the collaborative retreat program, The Cabins and she also has a writing-advice newsletter, “Get Published, Stay Published,” that you can sign up for at courtneymaum.com.
I joined Instagram on a Tuesday, the night of a weekly social club in the Berkshires where members get together to share dishes that correspond to that week’s theme.
I have an appointment at the podiatrist in Paris. When I arrive at the public health center, I struggle with the name of the doctor I am meant to see.…