Introducing: "The Intermission"

A new series on the famous — and not-so-famous — people who stepped away from their work & the limelight

Back in 2024, I told my therapist I felt I was going through my “lost year.” Nothing seemed to make sense, and there was no clear path forward for my life anymore for the first time in my adult life.

She gently asked me how I could reframe that line of thinking into a kinder, more constructive attitude. I shrugged and said, “Maybe my year of rediscovery?”

But now, I think it would be more accurate to call this period in my life “an intermission.” The time between when the curtain falls and an act break ends — but before a new one begins.

Many things can take place during an intermission break during a play. Maybe you’re letting your mind wander in anticipation of what’s coming next. Maybe your mind is busy making plans for dinner or a to-do list for tomorrow, like theater actors frantically changing costumes behind the scenes. Maybe you’re taking a nap to recuperate from a hard day at work during those blissful, but short ten minutes. Maybe you’re just taking a bathroom break to pee.

Photo by Barry Weatherall on Unsplash

Similarly, I believe we have periods of our life where we take an intermission from what we were doing before and await or transition to whatever comes next. Sometimes, these intermissions are involuntary or forced, such as in a layoff or an onset of illness. Sometimes, they’re semi-voluntary, like when we step away from a heavy career due to burnout or enter a dark period of writers block. Sometimes, they’re completely voluntary, like when we switch jobs to get a taste of something new or end a relationship because it no longer serves where we’re going in life.

Over the past year, I’ve been mulling the concept of “the intermission” and how I wanted to tackle this subject in my writing. Would I try to write up a book proposal? Maybe I’d make a podcast.

But then, I conjured up this Substack, and it seemed like the right home and right time for it. I knew I wanted to focus on the intermissions of famous people & extraordinary but lesser-known individuals who made a sharp break from the previous trajectory of their life before returning — either with renewed energy to their former endeavors or to a whole new adventure altogether.

And with that, I present “The Intermission,” a new series I’ll be launching in this Substack. Every few weeks, I’ll send out a mini-summary/profile of a different person’s intermission in their life, what they did during their time away, and what they learned.

My hope is that these mini-profiles will offer some clarity to other people going through an “intermission” in their lives. If the world’s most successful people can do it, then you can too.

And if you’re not interested in these columns, feel free to simply scroll on and await my next essay in your inbox.

My first subject for this column surprised me, and I hope his story will surprise you too. Following burnout in 2022, pop star Shawn Mendes walked away from the limelight. He shared his story for the first time in this terrific New York Times article, which I encourage you to read in full.

But for a quick summary from the New York Times:

“In 2022, amid what he called a mental health “breaking point,” he canceleda multimillion-dollar, two-year international tour — over 80 scheduled arena dates — acknowledging that, in that moment, he couldn’t handle it. It was a startling admission, especially for a multiplatinum male artist with a hugely devoted young fan base. If their attention was fickle, he would be gone.”

The story opens with Mendes performing for the first time in two years in Woodstock, New York. He’s overwhelmed with tears.

When he temporarily quit touring a few years ago, Mendes didn’t recognize himself. He had completed his fourth consecutive No. 1 album, “Wonder,” and he should have felt like he was on the top of the world.

Instead, he felt broken. The pressure of supporting a crew and touring and maintaining the admiration of fans grew on him. He became severely depressed.

“I was a shell — like talking to a wall.” He suddenly craved preconcert booze and smokes, which he had always sworn off to protect his voice. And when the post-show drink was out of “needing an escape,” he saw the path he did not want to take “I was like, I’m not going to rewrite the same story that’s been written a thousand times by musicians and artists, where they can’t cope and they’d start taking more drugs, more alcohol, until it’s too much. I’m not doing that. I’m just going hard left.”

So Mendes made a choice — admittedly, one of financial privilege — to step away from his career. He made peace with letting others down because he knew sacrificing his mental health was not a price he was willing to pay.

It broke my heart when I canceled tour,” he sings on the new album’s opener, “Who I Am.” “Had my soul and my head going back and forth.”…But it was also “a huge lesson for me in becoming an adult, which is that you don’t get to live this life without hurting people,” he said.

For a long time, Mendes was lost. Then, he slowly found his way back to himself. To music. Through music.

Over rootsy guitar and strings, his struggles are laid bare on his fifth album, “Shawn,” due Nov. 15. “I don’t understand who I am right now,” he whispers on the anguished opening track.

Mendes learned — as all of us go through an intermission do — that healing takes longer than you think. Imagine how long you think you’ll need to recover after a breakup, a layoff, a massive burnout, a mental health spiral, etc, and then double that amount of time. It still probably won’t be enough.

“Healing takes time,” he said. “More than you want. And it’s beautiful, because you can be healing and expressing at the same time. You can be joyful and grieving simultaneously.”

There’s a reason Mendes is such a talented songwriter and musician, and I’m glad he took the time he needed to find his way back to himself.

And if you’re in an intermission in your life, I hope you take the time you need, too.

Until next time…