The Other Bennet Sister

So I finally read The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow, my first book of the year! I particularly sought this out because of an upcoming BBC miniseries adaptation, and was lucky to find a secondhand copy in Shopee last year.

The Other Bennet Sister tells the story of Mary Bennet, the often overlooked middle sister from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The book is divided into five parts, with part 1 recounting her early childhood and the events of Pride and Prejudice told through Mary's eyes.

In this version, Hadlow gives us a background of why Mary became who she was in the original novel. As a child, she learned (from her own parents nonetheless!) that she had neither beauty, wit, nor charm. And she believed it, so much so that she eventually felt undeserving of anything good. As a result, she retreated into her books and music. This core belief is what drives the story. We follow Mary as she pursues her own path, slowly lets go of the lies she held on to, and finally learns to love herself. And in the process, she finds love, of course.

It's funny that as I was reading this book, I kept recalling things I'd learned from therapy and my readings about mental health. Terms like childhood trauma, emotional neglect... "Mary's aunt is teaching her to reframe her thinking"; "Mary's rewiring her brain", and so on... It felt like an example was laid out before me of how healing happens. And in Mary's case, it was through the help of good and healthy relationships, along with self-compassion, that she was finally able to come out of her shell. Mary definitely deserved her own happy ending.

The book is quite long (655 pages!), but if you love Jane Austen and do not mind reading derivative works or fan fiction, then this is for you.

Dónal Finn and Ella Bruccoleri in The Other Bennet Sister (BBC)

I also cannot wait for the TV series! The first-look photos and teaser released last December all looked promising. I'm so looking forward to watching Dónal Finn's (Mat Cauthon in A Wheel of Time) portrayal of Tom Hayward.

Snapshot of 2025, Hopes for 2026

How time flies! It's almost the end of January. I started the year a bit weak, but the Lord is merciful, I feel much better now.

The last year has not been good to me: my anxiety came back, and then I was diagnosed with endometriosis --- a bad combination for health anxiety. I was sick almost every month with either the flu or digestive issues.

I also got into talk therapy, which helped me somewhat to not lose my way to healing. But then I sometimes felt invalidated when my health issues were dismissed as just anxiety.

For my endometriosis, I was given medicine called dienogest, a synthetic progesterone, which helped ease menstrual pain. However, last December, I was bleeding almost every day. It was not heavy, but I got worried because I was prone to low hemoglobin.

So came early January, I went back to my gyn, but she only gave me more meds to stop the bleeding. I asked if I could stop dienogest, and she told me to just finish the remaining pack, which was not for another two weeks. I sought the advice of another gyn, same thing. The meds for bleeding worked for only two days, then it came back. After four more days of bleeding, I decided to stop dienogest and not finish the pack.

A day after stopping, I had like a regular period. By this time I was already pale, so aside from iron supplements, I made sweet potato tops juice, ate more iron rich food. Thankfully within five days the bleeding stopped.

I don't know how long it would take for my body "normalize". The doctors warned me the menstrual pain would come back and the cyst might grow. Yet I have been dealing with dysmenorrhea for more than 30 years now. I'm already in my 40s. I would rather choose a few more years of pain than taking medicine with all its side effects (mental health included).

I've read some success stories of lifestyle changes lessening pain and other symptoms. That's what I'm trying out right now. Maybe it will help, if not, then at least I tried.

Last year I was frozen, stalled, fearful. So I hope for a joyful, more active 2026. I always pray for guidance in this life full of uncertainties. It's a daily struggle, but as long as I'm making even the smallest progress everyday, then all is well. God bless us all!

Nostalgia for the old web

It is interesting how a health issue made me think of the things of the past. When I look back on my childhood, it is always the joy of simplicity that stands out. I felt nostalgic for simple times when we had less stuff; when people visited homes instead of restaurants to meet up; when we sent messages by mail or email and didn't expect instant replies. And in this age of social media, I especially missed the old web --- colorful and unique blogs and their lovely authors, hobby forums, GeoCities, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger, and more.

And I found out I was not alone. When you google "nostalgia for the old web", there's a growing trend with several articles and Reddit threads written about it. It was last year that I read these two pieces:

• Why the Internet Isn’t Fun Anymore by Kyle Chayka
• I miss the internet: A love letter to webmasters and GeoCities by JA Westenberg

The website of Gavin DeGraw, one of my favorite singer-composers of the early 2000s, also looks like we're back in 2003, which is really cool. You should check it out!

 

Here's another one: google "GeoCities" and automatically the search results will be displayed in Comic Sans font.

Comic Sans font used on Google search results for GeoCities

 

Lastly, Miracoli Eucaristici, the website made by Blessed Carlo Acutis, along with his other web projects, is still up and looks to be in its original early 2000s design.