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Julie Beck

@julieebeck.bsky.social

820 followers 130 following 100 posts

staff writer @theatlantic.com / writing book on friendship in the age of hyperindividualism / creator of The Friendship Files / newsletter: https://julieebeck.beehiiv.com

julieebeck.beehiiv.com

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Feb 27

hello bluesky! this is a pinnable intro skeet

I’m a staff writer at @theatlantic.com, where I write about relationships

I’m writing a book about friendship, specifically what’s happening to it in an age of hyperindividualism

and I have two perfect cats, Cherry and Ginkgo

A Publisher’s Marketplace deal report that reads:

Category: Non-fiction: Politics/Current Affairs
THE FRIENDS WE MADE ALONG THE WAY By Julie Beck
Imprint: Thesis
March 22, 2024
Creator of The Friendship Files and staff writer at The Atlantic Julie Beck's
THE FRIENDS WE MADE ALONG THE WAY, an examination of the state of friendship in American culture, identifying the structural forces that push us away from authentic connection with others and what we can do to fight back, to Niki Papadopoulos at Thesis, by Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg Rostan (world).

Two perfect angel cats stare at you. They’re white and fluffy with pale pink ears, snuggled together on a hardwood floor. The larger male has one blue eye and one green, he’s lounging, leaning against his sister. She has two green eyes and a scrunglier face than her brother.

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · 5d

Nicole put so much work, thought, care, generosity and deep empathy into this piece and it shows! a must-read

Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 6d

I spoke w/ over 2 dozen birth mothers for this story. Though I could only include a fraction of their stories here, all they shared about their experiences since placement, their love & their grief, & their hopes for their children helped inform this piece & deepen my understanding of open adoption.

At first, she had no reason to doubt that her wishes would be honored. The adoptive couple attended her prenatal appointments and birthing classes, and they were present for the delivery of her baby girl, she said. After the birth, planning visits was easy, because the two families lived close to each other. Lindsay was invited to birthday parties; the families exchanged emails, texts, and photos. When her biological daughter turned 7, however, something shifted. She said that her daughter had apparently started asking the adoptive parents questions about her adoption, and that they asked that Lindsay not discuss the subject with their daughter unless they were present. She agreed but then was not invited to the next birthday party. And when she asked the adoptive parents for letters and updates, it began to feel “like pulling teeth.” Eventually, she said, the adoptive mother told her that the father would no longer allow visits. Lindsay has never been given an explanation.

Her daughter is now 13. Lindsay told me that she occasionally reaches out to the adoptive parents, “just to kind of remind them that I’m still here; I still very much love my daughter and want to be part of her life.” It has been more than two years, she said, since she received any photos or updates. Her primary reason for choosing an open adoption was to be available to answer her daughter’s questions. Losing contact, she told me, “is like having one of my biggest fears come true.”

The PACA, Erin explained to me, stated clearly that she wanted to see her child twice a year. But shortly before her daughter’s first birthday, she said, the adoptive parents informed her that they were moving abroad—something they had long hoped to do yet had not mentioned before the adoption.

Erin told me that the family has made trips back to the U.S., but that she has seen her now-8-year-old only once in person since the family relocated. She said that she recently had a virtual call with her daughter, and that she hopes to establish a closer relationship with the adoptive parents, whom she considers to be excellent parents. She explained that she does not wish to involve a court; in the past, she was also advised that, because the adoptive parents now live outside the United States, holding them to their original, legally binding agreement would be challenging. Although Erin told me that she appreciates her agency’s efforts to help her reestablish regular communication with the adoptive family, she also wishes that she had added “tougher” language to their initial contact agreement, to more explicitly protect her rights. She had chosen open adoption “leaning on the fact that no matter what happened, I would get to see my daughter, and I’d get to be a part of her life,” she said. “That’s not what happened."

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · 13d

as usual @adamserwer.bsky.social says it best: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Lower Than Cowards

The surrender of America’s elites

www.theatlantic.com

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · 19d

you do owe people things

erika @yeeeerika.bsky.social · Jan 13

i don't want to hear your most boomer complaint. what's your most millennial complaint?

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · 22d

don't read this if you play games with me I'M SERIOUS

www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

It’s Fun to Be a Board-Game Sociopath

What can I say? I love to betray my friends.

www.theatlantic.com

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Sep 6

that can’t be right, because my handwriting doesn’t look like that

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Sep 5

I did it…..I turned in a draft of this dang book to my editor. now my reward: to purchase sid meier’s civilization 7 and play it til my eyes bleed

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Sep 4

the song of the summer is the entirety of the goo goo dolls’ 1998 album dizzy up the girl, you either get it or you don’t

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Sep 4

tiktok keeps showing me these journal girls with washi tapes & popular girl handwriting & adorable illustrated spreads

am I jealous, yes, but I also feel compelled to say that a true journal freak opens that notebook and it’s wall to wall black ink text, just pure uncut unhinged internal dialogue

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Aug 29

I’ve ended up on the side of tiktok where people have special surgical tweezers to peel stickers of smiling bears from their film and put them in their planners

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Aug 27

and they said my encyclopedic knowledge of taylor swift lyrics would never be professionally lucrative

www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

She’s Been Singing About This Day for a Long Time

Taylor Swift’s songs have looked ahead toward marriage since she was a teenager.

www.theatlantic.com

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Aug 17

big plans for my vacation? you bet—I’m going to purchase books at the local bookstore of a DIFFERENT city, instead of my own

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Aug 14

I watched way too many "5 to 9 after 9 to 5" videos and became convinced that whether you "make the most" of your free time by being super productive or just try to relax and recover from your job, the ghost of work haunts most of our leisure
www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

The Logic of the ‘9 to 5’ Is Creeping Into the Rest of the Day

How free time gets conscripted into the service of work

www.theatlantic.com

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Reposted by Julie Beck

Peter Wade @peterwade.bsky.social · Aug 3

Not only are Palestinians starving to death, they are being killed as they try to access food.

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jul 18

nothing like coming up with a crackpot theory based purely on vibes, then digging into the research and discovering…you may be right

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jul 11

to my fellow lifters looking to improve grip strength, just buy this conditioner

iykyk

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jul 10

I miss when I could google something and find information from sources other than “Catholic MatchPlus,” “StyleGirlfriend.com, someone’s 10-year-old personal blog, and Quora

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jul 3

I wrote about @caseyjohnston.bsky.social 's weightlifting memoir, the perks of getting jacked, and why I eat candy at the gym

www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...

The Feminine Pursuit of Swoleness

Casey Johnston’s new book, "A Physical Education," considers how weight lifting can help you unlearn diet culture.

www.theatlantic.com

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jun 27

I just realized, just now, at age 34, in the year of our lord two thousand and twenty five, in THIS economy... that the Playstation logo is made up of a P and an S

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jun 25

a great story by @emmasarappo.bsky.social that I wish she hadn't needed to write www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

This Pride Month, the Backlash Has Officially Arrived

Young LGBTQ people are facing the prospect of losing rights they thought they’d never have to worry about.

www.theatlantic.com

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jun 24

real thank you notes ARE coming but until then let this serve as a token of gratitude for everyone who helped with our wedding, and a plea to others to let your friends help you!!

www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

A Wedding Reveals How Much Help Is Really Available to You

Big life moments offer permission to ask for assistance. You should seize it.

www.theatlantic.com

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jun 21

I know I’m washed up because the girlies are now wearing leggings with sewn in artificial ass crack…I can’t get behind it and I won’t get it on my behind

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jun 17

why didn't anyone tell me that evernote rules

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jun 11

no one is reporting on modern romance and singlehood quite like @faith-hill.bsky.social. she’s an astute observer of the vibes and distills them so clearly, I always learn something!

www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

The New Singlehood Stigma

Society tells us we should have a partner—but we shouldn’t want one.

www.theatlantic.com

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Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jun 9

let @jeremygordon.bsky.social love his wife you cowards

www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

In Defense of the ‘Wife Guy’

The phrase has become a pejorative. Why?

www.theatlantic.com

Julie Beck @julieebeck.bsky.social · Jun 2

the art is awesome but it would have been better illustrated with a picture of cherry and ginkgo:

two white cats are snuggling on a pile of blankets. one is laying down with one paw extended, the other is curled up like a powdered donut. I’m laying down next to them with my face on one cat and my arm around another