Three months in: a summer postcard

Lamenting the halfway point of summer and celebrating what your family food stories have taught me.

Aug 09, 2026

*The familiar “Greetings From” design we see on vintage American postcards was popularized by Curt Teich, a German immigrant who transformed the “Gruss Aus” cards he knew from home. Learn more.*

August 9, 2026

Dear family:

Welcome to Issue 9. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this publication, but I launched it anyway on faith that everyone has a story worth telling.

It’s been only (and already) three months. In that time, Never Precious has turned from an experiment into a part of my everyday life that brings joy and meaning. The stories have taken me into family kitchens, neighborhood markets, and conversations I never could have anticipated.

With each story, I learn more about the people I care about, meet new ones from all walks of life, and experience some incredible cuisine along the way.

A few yummy bites from the first Never Precious summer.

Take Erin, whom you’ve already met through a couple of stories. I’ve known her since seventh grade and visited her mother’s house more times than I can count.

Yet this year was the first time I tasted her mother’s Filipino cooking — and, better yet, learned alongside Erin how to make one of her mom’s signature dishes.

Erin’s mother teaching us how to make the sweet and sour Filipino stew *sinigang*.

That experience captures what has delighted me most about Never Precious: each story either deepens a relationship or creates a new one, often leading naturally to the next.

Researching Erin’s story introduced me to DJ, whose reflections on adobo opened another story I’m now reporting.

Erin’s story itself was written by Melissa, a colleague from the White House. Last week, I talked to Melissa’s mother about her family’s Maryland crab tradition. I learned that Melissa and I went to the same elementary school.

An old friendship opens into a new experience; one conversation leads to another; and someone else’s family story reveals an unexpected connection to the world around us.

Blink and summer’s halfway over.

Never Precious is just getting started. Thank you all for the feedback on what you want to read about and how you want to tell your stories. Please keep it coming; your participation is what keeps this alive.

As I plan for the next phase, I’ll be experimenting with ways to bring you closer to the people behind the stories, through other formats and more photographs, audio, and video — both here and on social media.

Something that’s rung true the past three months: the path often reveals itself if we’re willing to listen. I still don’t know which Never Precious will take us down.

But I can’t wait to find out.