January 03 26 Newsletter | Take the Back Roads

 This newsletter was originally sent on January 03, 2026

Each month, I share new essays, books, and stories from the road.

📬 Want these updates in your inbox? Subscribe here.

An empty road leading into the fading light, where the horizon meets the quiet promise of the journey ahead

Welcome, Friends, 

to News from the Back Roads!


Hello friends,

The year is still very new, and I’m noticing how quickly the world tries to rush us back into speed. Before momentum takes over, I wanted to pause here for a moment, long enough to choose the pace intentionally.

Some seasons are for movement. Others are for maintenance. Knowing the difference matters more than we like to admit.

Thank you for being here, and for reading with patience.

Warmly,

a.d. elliott

Art and Other Odd Adventures

Stories Found Along the Way

2026: The Year of Maintenance,

A Medical Rest Stop

2026 is beginning as a medical rest stop, not a breakdown, not a retreat, but a deliberate pause for maintenance and repair. A year of tending what needs care, moving gently, and refusing the pressure to rush what takes time.

The piece isn’t about illness so much as agency: choosing rest without apology, recognizing limits without surrender, and continuing forward without forcing what isn’t ready yet.

If you’re in a season where gentle movement is the work, you’re not behind. You’re maintaining the vehicle.

The road continues.

→ Read the full reflection on TakeTheBackRoads.com

From the Studio Wall

Twisted Abyssinian a.d. elliott, Take the Back Roads

Available in the shop! 

Twisted Abyssinian is a study in natural persistence, growth that does not follow a straight line, yet arrives fully formed. A piece for spaces that value quiet strength and patient becoming.


Photograph by 

a.d. elliott 

available at shop.takethebackroads.com

If any of these stories offered you a moment of reflection or a gentle breath this week, I hope you’ll share them with a fellow traveler — of roads, books, or life.




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