John Dickerson’s Notebooks: An Exploration of Inklings

In this week’s essay, John Dickerson looks back on a Sunday morning in 2021, and ruminates on the empty spaces left behind by the people that once filled our lives.    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen. Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 6. September 5, 2021: “Oh my god. We dropped our son at college and our dog is dead.” – Anne.   References: “Sunday Morning Coming Down” by Johnny Cash “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot “When Someone You Love is Upset, Ask This One Question” by Jancee Dunn for the New York Times “A Case of ‘Sunday Neurosis’” by Jena McGregor for the Washington Post “Waking Early Sunday Morning” by Robert Lowell Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything is Changing by Brad Stulberg Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed “Alabama Pines” by Jason Isbell    Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.   Host John Dickerson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices