The Interview
Joanna Goddard
Joanna Goddard has spent twenty years writing about the texture of a life — the small rituals, the hard feelings, the things worth paying attention to. She built Cup of Jo from a personal blog into one of the internet's most trusted voices on how women actually live. She is warm, direct, and very funny about the parts of life that are not.
5
Show & Tell — in her words.
Something in your home that makes you happy every day
"A small oil painting of a lemon I bought at a street market in Naples for twelve euros. It is not valuable. I cannot stop looking at it."
Your favorite spot in your city
"There's a bench in Riverside Park that I've been going to for fifteen years. I've cried there, I've eaten a lot of sandwiches there, I've made some of my best decisions there. It doesn't look like anything."
How you nourish yourself
"A real breakfast, every day. I'm religious about it. Eggs, usually. Sometimes toast with good butter and whatever jam I'm in the middle of. I think I'm a better person before noon because of this."
Where you go when you want to be alone and feel great about it
"The bar at a restaurant I love. Corner seat. Glass of something cold. Book or notebook, never my phone. I dress up for it. I always feel like myself there."
One more — anything
"My bathrobe. It is extremely unglamorous and I wear it until noon on any day I'm not leaving the house. This is the honest version of nourishing routines."
7
How do you spend a Sunday?
Slowly, and with coffee I don't rush. I like to read something long in the morning before I've talked to anyone. Then usually the farmers market, then whatever the day actually asks of me. I've gotten very good at not having plans until I want them.
What do you do that people assume requires a partner?
Travel, mostly. People act like booking a trip alone is either brave or sad, and it's neither. It's just a trip. I've had some of the best meals of my life at a table for one because I was paying full attention to the food instead of managing a shared experience.
What are you most proud of building for yourself?
A home that is completely mine. Not decorated for anyone else, not arranged to impress. It took me a long time to stop buying things I thought I was supposed to want and start buying things I actually loved. The apartment I have now is the first place that has ever felt totally like me.
What do people get wrong about your life?
That it's a waiting room. It's not. I'm not in between something. This is the thing.
What would you tell yourself ten years ago?
Stop being so reasonable about what you want. Ask for more. Make the reservation. Send the message. The worst case is always more manageable than you think, and the best case is better than you let yourself imagine.
What does a great solo night look like for you?
Dinner at the bar, something I've been wanting to try. A book I'm actually into. Getting home at a reasonable hour and feeling like I had a genuinely good evening — not like I settled for one.
What are you still figuring out?
How to want the things I actually want without immediately editing them into something more reasonable. It's a work in progress. I think it always will be.
5
A dispatch from her most recent date.
Everywhere, I said. Alone.
He looked — confused. Good.