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HeyJared

Everything That Makes Me Happy Makes Me Sad

I wrote a series of letters to my sons and wife after I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Somehow, I'm still alive, don't have cancer & the letters became a book. I don't understand any of this either, but I am trying to figure it out.

Newsletter · By Dan McNamee · Official site

Indexed issues, last 90 days
2
Latest publication
Sep 11, 2026
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Jul 29, 2026

Latest issues

  1. Issue · Sep 11, 2026

    Chapter 2: Fuck it, let’s get existential (opens the original)

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    I had three fundamental concerns when I considered serializing my book through the magic of Substack:Would this republication jeopardize my chances at major literary prizes? Would this republication materially impact the revenue generated from my book sales?It was written under considerable existential distress: how would it age?Well, I solved issue #1 by proactively emailing the relevant authorities and removing my work from consideration from any and all future literary prizes, including but n

  2. Issue · Jul 29, 2026

    A bit of news and some other words (opens the original)

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    How do you know if someone went to Harvard? They will tell you. So goes the old joke.And how do you know if someone wrote a book?They will tell you.Well, keen readers will know I often confirm my authorship of “Everything that makes me happy makes me sad”, which would have been a NY Times best seller if only it had sold more copies. I have previously shared an excerpt or two from my “holy shit my malignant pancreas and liver are going to kill me…damn chemo sucks….oh boy these medical trials are

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