THE ISOLATION JOURNALS

Suleika Jaouad began The Isolation Journals three years ago, in the beginning of the pandemic quarantine, as a way for readers to connect with others during those difficult days. She offered her own warm, candid reflections on life as well as prompts by other creative people.

“Journaling for me has been a lifelong practice since I was old enough to hold a pen,” she says, “especially important in times of sorrow or struggle or transition. I decided to try to share this practice that had been so valuable to me and that hoped might be resonant to everyone else. And I invited my community of friends and artists and musicians and writers to offer up some words of inspiration.”

PREVIOUS PAGE, LEFT, CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT ← Jon wore the sparkling gold jacket (with matching pants) to premiere a new work at Carnegie Hall in 2022; sliding trays are for evening bags and other small items; the celesta, or bell piano, was made by a small family-owned company in Germany.

PREVIOUS PAGE, RIGHT ← The shared top of the side-by-side dressers holds one of Jon’s five Grammys, the Academy Award he shared with composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for their original score to the Disney-Pixar film Soul, and Suleika’s Emmy, won for the video version of her New York Times column, “Life, Interrupted.”

OPPOSITE → A niche in the stairwell holds an early American ceramic vessel, found in an antiques shop in upstate New York. Styled by Hallie Goodman.

The Isolation Journals , which is free, now has 100,000 readers. Paid subscribers can also read Suleika’s advice column, “Dear Susu”; watch “studio visits” with writers and artists; and participate in the Hatch, a virtual writing group.

“It’s grown into a really thriving community,” she says. Adds her proud husband, “It’s more than a newsletter; it’s an opportunity for people to express their innermost thoughts” in a virtual village that is “a safe space in a dark world. That’s really the accomplishment of it.”