Head for the Mountains! | The Check-In - April 10, 2026
Me, 4/4/26, Italy
Letter
Dear Reader,
The Check-In is something I send out every other week to share what I’m reading, thinking, consuming, and sometimes dreaming.
The past two weekends, I’ve been exploring Italy.
Two weeks ago, I visited the cute town of Arquá Petrarca, hiking up Monte Cinto, a hill in this mostly flat region of Italy.
I visited a thermal spa. These spas are popular throughout Europe but not in the United States. I love thermal spas and bathhouses and seek them out. For example, Buckstaff Bathhouse in Hot Springs, Arkansas, I went to with a friend on my first cross-country road trip back in 2005. Built in 1912, the bahthouse still retains the charm and ornate beauty of that era.
Google’s AI says that Americans’ focus on individuality makes us prefer personal hot tubs over communal bathing experiences. This article says, however, that we may be verging on a thermal therapy renaissance because of “community hunger. In our increasingly isolated world, thermal therapy offers something rare—a reason to slow down and connect with others without screens.” I hope we have one! It could heal us.
This past weekend, I headed for the mountains! I visited Adamello Brenta Natural Park, a first for me, in the Alps for a snowy hike.
This was the Adamé Valley. We did the first part of this hike but stopped at Rifugio Cittá di Lissone, had lunch, then returned. It was 4 miles in total. I slipped on the snow at least twice! Then I drank a beer at the top and had gas on the way down. I also didn’t stretch at all and was sore for days from the first super steep hike of the season.
My last event “When Everything Feels Uncertain,” with my consulting company, Tend Collective, went well and I was happy to receive feedback such as “I had no idea there was this kind of support available. Such a gift!”
At Tend Collective, the mission is to support people who work in roles that care for people. These folks are often not getting the care and rest that they need as carers. It felt good to hear that so many who attended the webinar/discussion felt seen, heard, and supported.
The next event is Thursday, April 16, 2026, “When Everything Feels Uncertain”. Register here.
Blogs this period:
No new blogs.
Instagram videos:
No new videos.
Warmly,
Alison
Action Item:
Learn more about cults and coercive control.
In 2020, I watched the HBO docu-series The Vow about the NXIVM cult. From there, I started reading about and listening to anything I could find to better understand coercive control. It’s absolutely everywhere! Not just in remote Texas or Oregon compounds. Cultic and coercive control can happen 1:1 in abusive relationships, at workplaces, and for governments. Check out the book The Cult of Trump by cult expert Steve Hassan.
I especially love these two podcasts by NXIVM survivors:
When we understand how coercive control, manipulation, and mind control work, we can better work together to create a society in which we don’t get taken advantage of by the worst among us. For too long, we’ve let sociopaths and narcissists take all the power and wealth that they crave. We often celebrate them.
Reading, watching, and listening to:
Watching.
I watched these three films:
The Secret Agent - Brazilian (2025)
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die - USA (2025)
La Grazia - Italian (2025)
The Secret Agent was visually captivating! I didn’t want the scenes of 1970s Brazil during Carnival to end. I loved all the colors, clothing, and furnishings. Beautiful! Worth it for that alone, but also the main actor, Wagner Moura, had a lot of charisma. I’ll be searching out more films that he’s in.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a cynical romp that explores black mirror themes about too much phone use by high schoolers, AI taking over, and living in a simulation. One character is comically allergic to wifi and gets a bloody nose every time she’s around a wifi signal. I enjoyed it! Made me want to get off my phone.
La Grazia is about a fictional President of Italy, about to retire, considering some pardons and a decision on whether to make euthanasia legal. He is contemplating whether he can pardon his late wife for an affair she had 40 years prior. I was surprised to enjoy the themes presented because they were a little heavy-handed/literal. But I find myself still thinking about love, logic, and the law after finishing watching it.
Buying/Using:
Gear.
My Hydro Flask has been surviving the YEARS with me. I bought it in 2019, and it is still going strong. I take it on hikes, and it has come with me on my nomadic travels across Europe an Turkiye. It has a few dents, but it still works perfectly, keeping my water contained and cool.
I highly recommend a Hydro Flask.
