#30 11 reader questions asked and answered

Beauty culture, NA beer, sober sex, comparison, dating, powerlessness, more.

Hello from New York where unlike Los Angeles (93 degrees when I left) it is absolutely fall and I am absolutely wearing much L.L. Bean. For whatever reason or perhaps because I/we/earth had a summer that felt like what actual hell probably feels like, for the first time in my adult life I’m excited for fall and not overwhelmed by the pending doom that is my S.A.D. Normally around this time of year the angle of the sun changes (barely, imperceptibly), and there I am just totally terrified of winter and consumed by a depression brought on by the anticipation of depression and life loses most of its meaning. This year: the angle of the sun changed, the plants began to brown, and instead of convincing myself that I was about to be in very much pain, I opted for a fall colored manicure (teddy-bear brown, teal accents). I found myself excitedly anticipating: sweater weather, hot cocoa, long runs in below freezing weather, short days, long nights. Winter. I’m not sure what happened. Maybe it…