Brett Writes

Essays for building a life, from the ground up.

Health & Habits

Favorite Things

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Today’s picks

One essay from each corner of the site. A new set every day.

Voyager image of Saturn's rings in bands of orange, teal, cream, and blue against black space

FaithAre the Big Questions Dead?

Three kids in bike helmets stand on wooden chairs, peering into a cafe window set in a white brick wall

MoneyIt’s Time for a Raise

A man stands on a fallen log over a small creek in a sunlit green forest.

FamilyOur First Home Exchange

Woman in a blue sundress leaning on a railing, looking over a green Provence valley at sunset

TravelTravel With Young Kids - Why?

Pebbly Mediterranean beach with blue water curving toward a hillside town and distant coastline

BooksFavorite Things: 2023

Black and white photo of a young man in a white T-shirt looking down, with another person blurred behind him

AI & TechThe End of Digital Gullibility

Hi, I’m Brett

Nice to meet you.

Small-town kid turned urban dad of three, engineer by training, recovering landlord. I write about the lessons I’ve learned building a life, and what I’m still figuring out.

Brett, smiling, under the orange gates at Fushimi Inari in Kyoto

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The latest

Side by side: the Terminator's metal skeleton with red eyes, and Tony Stark's face surrounded by a glowing JARVIS display

New series · four parts

How to AI

Skynet or JARVIS? A short case for learning to use AI, even if you're skeptical of it. Part 1 of a three-part How to AI series.

Start with part one All 50 essays →

Where I’ve written from

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5 essays

France

Three kids playing at the edge of the surf on a sandy Irish beach, green headlands under a blue sky

7 Months Abroad: The Good

Two spreadsheets side by side: a credit card bonus tracker and a Europe Trip 2026 itinerary of flights and stays

7 Months Abroad: The Practical

Two young boys look at a large stone fountain in a sunny French plaza lined with ornate buildings and cafes

Travel with Young Kids - How?

Sénanque Abbey's pale stone church with a bell tower, behind rows of blooming purple lavender under a blue sky

Three Days a Monk

Red tile rooftops overlooking a calm blue sea dotted with sailboats and yachts under a clear sky

Favorite Things: 2022

Or go by depth

Foundation first. Then structure. Then details.

FoundationThe big questions StructureHow I’m building DetailsThe how-to