The Last Romantic
Thirty-five letters

Writing

01 / 04 the memoir
  1. 01 The Memoir, Prologue: From the Desk of The Last Romantic The Black Sheep of the Family Chapter No. 01 · The Memoir · 7 min
  2. 02 The Memoir: The Lesser of Two Evils Blame the Artist, they all do anyways. Chapter No. 02 · The Memoir · 5 min
  3. 03 The Memoir: A Dozen Shih Tzus, or Me? At this point, am I just a bunch of dogs stuffed in a trench coat? Chapter No. 03 · The Memoir · 4 min
  4. 04 The Memoir: The Fall, and the Shame of "Daddy Issues" On the Cornell case, the reflex of blaming women, and the letter I wrote to my father while I was still protecting him. Content warning: child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault. Chapter No. 04 · The Memoir · 14 min
  5. 05 The Backstory: My First Marriage, Osama Bin Laden, A Punk Rock Coming of Age Story Welcome to the decade where punk rock solved problems that guidance counselors could not. Chapter No. 05 · The Memoir · 3 min
  6. 06 Marriage 1: NYC Intros, When the Rich and Poor Mate, and “Babe, Don’t You Know? No One Fucks With the Persian Cats.” The first time I realized love could be class warfare, we were engaged in New York and I was wearing his red lipstick. Chapter No. 06 · The Memoir · 5 min
  7. 07 Marriage 1’s Good Times are Coming, but First: Stop Saying Narcissists, My Therapy Session is The Shoot I’m Most Proud of, I’m Finally Safe in My Own Body, and Why I Destroy My Body Phew, that was a mouthful. Here’s my favorite piece yet. Chapter No. 07 · The Memoir · 6 min
  8. 08 Marriage 1 Bonus Chapter: Wulf Still Has My Respect, Homeboi, Self-Love and Tomorrow We Honor Our Good Times Here’s the bonus reel: the part where I defend the man everyone expects me to crucify, admit I didn’t love myself yet, and thank the friend who saw me before I could see me. Chapter No. 08 · The Memoir · 5 min
  9. 09 Marriage 1: Alright, I Swear Good Times Are Coming Soon! Meet the In-Laws, Rescuing People, Palm Trees, Cocaine, and Babies? Before the “good times”: in-laws, old debts, and my I-can-fix-it delusion. Ah, and Meet Wulf: charm, chaos, and a phone I shouldn’t have bought. Chapter No. 09 · The Memoir · 6 min
  10. 10 Marriage 1: Nuclear Family, “How to Be a Teenage Wife”, Donald Trump, One Million Dollars Recipe included. Chapter No. 10 · The Memoir · 9 min
  11. 11 Marriage 1: We Are Now Broke, People Keep Dying, Mary the Therapist, I Overdose, Go Sober and Learn How to Walk Again, I Leave Wulf, I Translate Therapy Into Code and Marriage Advice Into Problem Sets Well, this one’s a doozy. Read through for some free tips that cost me a lot of time and money to learn. Chapter No. 11 · The Memoir · 20 min
02 / 04 bourdainism
  1. 12 Bourdainism in Austin: The Land of Inhale But life, is about balance. When do I exhale, exactly? Austin, Texas · 25 Sep 2026 · 7 min
  2. 11 Bourdainism in San Juan: The Art of Being Witnessed Thank you for your patience. San Juan, Puerto Rico · 27 Mar 2026 · 5 min
  3. 10 Bourdainism in Cartagena and Coralina Island: Colombia, Bad Buddy, Immigration, Metacognition and Breaking the Silence on My Last Marriage Featuring animals, reflections and my love of Colombian culture Cartagena, Colombia · 13 Feb 2026 · 8 min
  4. 09 Bourdainism in El Salvador: The Importance of Play A drop in the ocean, for the collective consciousness. El Tunco, El Salvador · 23 Jan 2026 · 3 min
  5. 08 B-B-Bourdainism: Bloopers and B-Sides from a Solo Traveler Let’s keep it real for a moment. With the world actively on fire, I think we’re allowed—no, obligated—to laugh. Preferably at me. Bourdainism · 10 Jan 2026 · 5 min
  6. 07 Bourdainism and Paris: Shamelessly Blocking My Entire Family on Social Media, Happy Holidays Diary of a Fed-Up Romantic. Paris, France · 30 Dec 2025 · 4 min
  7. 06 Bourdainism in Rome: Marveling at Human Achievements, Falling in Love With Rain, and Princess—For You, I’d Bring You the Moon, and the Stars, too I didn’t kiss an Italian. Rome still kissed me. Rome, Italy · 26 Dec 2025 · 6 min
  8. 05 Vienna, Last Night: 2025 Wrapped Wherever you go, there you are. Vienna, Austria · 18 Dec 2025 · 7 min
  9. 04 Bourdainism in Halstatt and Oberautal: The Town That Looked Like Heaven, and the Confession I Wrote in a Church Oh Austria, what a start. Hallstatt, Austria · 16 Dec 2025 · 6 min
  10. 03 Bourdainism and Greece: Women Should Take Back Their Power, Bursting the Insulated Tech Bubble With Art, Ali and I Are Kindred Spirits After All—Except David Bowie, Of Course A transformative arc. Athens, Greece · 14 Dec 2025 · 6 min
  11. 02 Bourdainism, and My Time in Panama: You Know I Love Me a Juxtaposition, and the Future of Romanticism and AI What’s the best that could happen? Casco Viejo, Panama · 9 Dec 2025 · 6 min
  12. 01 Bourdainism: One Backpack, Solo-Trip to Double-Digit Countries to Write People’s Stories, I’ll Miss My Dog, and First Stop is Mexico, Because Four C’s ”One does not take the A Train to Mecca.”—Anthony Bourdain Machu Picchu, Peru · 11 Nov 2025 · 3 min
03 / 04 the four c’s
  1. 02 Mexico and the Four C’s Prologue: The Movie of Life, Musings, and Day 0 Audio included. Letter № 02 · The Four C’s · 4 min
  2. 01 read_me: How to Read My Substack and Get the Most Out of This Free Book: The Four C’s: COVID, the Cartel, Conspiracy Theories, and Cryptocurrency Subscribers new and old, start here as your guide. I’m not an organized narrator, and I don’t think my audience needs one. Letter № 01 · The Four C’s · 6 min
04 / 04 essays & letters
  1. 10 The Quiet, and a Trip Down My Corporate Memory Lane An update, from the Desk of the Last Romantic: I went quiet. I should explain. Vulnerably, of course. The only way I know how. Letter № 10 · Essays and Letters · 10 min
  2. 09 Thank You Mr. Saint-Laurent for the Puzzle Pieces, Battling Existentialism, the Fragility of Peace, Gratitude, and My Future My final reflection, and an important update before the Four C’s arc officially starts. Letter № 09 · Essays and Letters · 10 min
  3. 08 Dear Reader, Pay Attention and Laugh More: Opal the OG Therapist Quits to Become a Beekeeper, I Want to Be Alone, Loving Without Attachment, How to Be Sexy, and A Quick Pause in the Tape Hrm, let the memories stitch, and let the feelings feel. Letter № 08 · Essays and Letters · 9 min
  4. 07 Psychedelics, Ulysses (Mr. Psychedelic), and Which Pen, Exactly? A love letter to altered states, stubborn art, and the humble pen that keeps me from exploding. Letter № 07 · Essays and Letters · 4 min
  5. 06 Love Song: Why I Write My name literally translates to “Love Song”—which feels like both a burden and a compass. No matter what I’ve survived, I’m here to create connection, meaning, and beauty. Here’s why I’m here. Letter № 06 · Essays and Letters · 4 min
  6. 05 F*ck, Marry, Kill: Austin, Los Angeles, New York I’ve lived in three major U.S. cities, and I’m still getting to know Austin. Current consensus? F*ck Austin, Marry New York, Kill LA. Letter № 05 · Essays and Letters · 3 min
  7. 04 The Lone Wolf Myth and the Price of Peace I’ve hit rock bottom, and instead of my usual “grind harder, hustle faster” survival strategy, I’m finally learning to rest. It’s not easy. Letter № 04 · Essays and Letters · 5 min
  8. 03 Two Divorces, Three Diagnoses, and Zero Shame: Notes from a Spicy Brain Think of me as the cocktail no bartender wants to make, but once you drink it, you’re like, “Damn, that’s strong.” Letter № 03 · Essays and Letters · 5 min
  9. 02 Found on Facebook: A Letter to a Mother I Barely Knew Some people write love letters to their moms. I’m writing to the wild woman who once ate a random flower on the streets of Seoul and told me to do the same. Letter № 02 · Essays and Letters · 4 min
  10. 01 Opal, a Blanket, and My First Real Therapy Session My very first session with Opal wasn’t some quiet, Zen-like breakthrough — it was me blurting out my greatest hits of dysfunction at auctioneer speed, while she… Letter № 01 · Essays and Letters · 4 min
get the next one →