Do you believe in magic?
If you said yes, you’re in the right place.
If you said no, well, you’re also in the right place.
Magic gets a bad rap. Too often condemned to the realm of hocus-pocus and abracadabra, I believe true magic is innate, and available to us at any time.
There is magic in a song or a certain turn of phrase. There is magic in the way these words are shepherded from a screen, to your eyes or ears, to your mind, where they blossom with meaning. There is magic in connection. There is magic in being human, no smoke or mirrors required.
What is The Magic Hour?
As a wise person (a therapist) once told me, humans are meant to be in community. This word has come to mean a lot of things over the years, but these days, it feels more important than ever.
Community is at the heart of this newsletter — a place for always-honest, often-vulnerable writing about creativity, relationships, work, fears, grief, inspiration, humor, hope, and other facets of personhood.
My aim is to provide a space for soft landings, warm gatherings, and the occasional spark of understanding.
In a world inundated with marketing cosplaying as narrative and robots masquerading as human, The Magic Hour celebrates the power of stories, ideas, and lived experiences. The magic of being human.
The Magic Hour publishes on Sunday evenings, to help combat Sunday scaries and usher us into the coming week.
Letters typically include a personal essay, occasional book recommendations, and most weeks, a tarot card reading (for personal reflection, not an exercise in fortunetelling).
Free subscribers receive about one letter per month.
Paid subscribers receive a letter each week (sometimes twice a week, when the Sunday offering is free for all).
Paid subscribers also get:
Full access to the archives, with over 200 past issues.
Access to comments, chat threads, and audio recordings.
First dibs on booking 1:1 tarot readings and creative consults. (New appointments are posted on a monthly basis and typically sell out within 24 hours, before they can open to the public.)
About Me
Hi, I’m Caroline, a writer who lives in Brooklyn.
In my previous lives, I’ve worked as a New York Times bestselling ghostwriter, editor at Penguin Random House, and editor at the beloved site Cup of Jo.
My writing has appeared in places like The Cut, Elle, The Washington Post, Refinery29, and The Zoe Report. I’m also the author of Best Babysitters Ever, a middle grade book series about three girls who start a business inspired by The Baby-Sitters Club and get a lot more than they bargained for.
This newsletter began as a weekly practice during a personally challenging time. Four years later, it’s become a meaningful part of my work, with a warm and thoughtful readership that I treasure.
Thank you so much for reading. x
[Magic hour photo by Petr Vyšohlíd.]
