Matthew Speiser

A year and a half ago, I published the most difficult thing I’ve ever written.

And then I stopped publishing.

Suffice to say, I was going through a lot of stuff.

But still, 1.5 years is a long time to stop publishing — especially when I told tourists I met traveling around Asia this Christmas that I’m a “writer” (telling non-English speakers I write marketing copy for a technology corporation seemed verbose). It also turns out 1.5 years is the amount of time I needed to write a book. One that’s technically not finished yet — but finished enough that I can say it actually exists (!).

Let me take a step back. In August of 2024, a friend of a friend named Greg reached out to me after reading my last article, saying he had an idea for a book that he’d love to discuss. A few weeks later, we sat on a bench in Brooklyn Bridge Park, and I explained how I approached writing about the loss of my father, and we both agreed that I could help him tell his own deeply personal story.

We drafted a very basic contract, prepped a rough outline and a schedule, and dozens of Zoom interviews later, we now have many pages of a first draft, marked up egregiously with Google Doc Comments and Suggested Edits. So it’s going to take some time to edit this thing down and find a publisher. But it feels like just the right time to start patting myself on the back in public.

In terms of details, like what the book is actually about, I can say it’s non-fiction, and it’s not a funny topic, but I like to think we infused it with — if not humor — at least a good deal of humanity.

I think it’s probably the best thing I’ve ever written.

Anyway, I look forward to sharing more details about this project as it moves closer to completion. In the meantime, I look forward to re-investing in this platform to share new writing.