A Piece of My Mind - April
Small Gifts, Lasting Care: A Mother's Day Edition
Welcome to the Michelle Seguin MD newsletter! I’m Dr. Michelle, and I’m so glad you’re here—part of a growing community of 950+ readers (so close to 1k)! This week, I’m sharing a special Mother’s Day edition of A Piece of My Mind, with simple gift ideas to nourish and celebrate the nurturing figures in our lives. I’m also excited to announce our May cookbook pick chosen for the first time by YOU, our wonderful readers!
Hello friends,
Earlier this month, a dear friend reached out and asked if I had a recipe recommendation for spring baking. It was such a simple request, but it touched me more deeply than I expected.
Isn’t that the sweetest kind of compliment: to be asked for a recipe, to share something that’s fed you? It felt like passing along a thread of care. A small ritual. A quiet kind of nourishment.
She later encouraged me to share some Mother's Day gift ideas in my newsletter and so, inspired by her kindness, I thought I would offer a few simple ways to celebrate the nurturing figures in our lives: with presence, beauty, and nourishment.
Thank you,
, for your care, our friendship, and inspiring this piece.With gratitude,
Dr. Michelle
A Piece of My Mind
Welcome to this space, where I share quick updates on what I’m learning, doing, and loving as we close out each month together. As the newsletter has evolved, this section has become a reader favorite—a playful nod to the beloved JAMA series, which explores the joys, challenges, and hidden truths of practicing medicine. While inspired by those stories, my version leans into the lighter side, celebrating the small, meaningful moments and practices that shape our everyday lives.
This month’s edition is a little extra special—a gentle offering of Mother's Day inspiration, honoring the women who nurture, guide, and care for us in so many ways.
What I’m Savoring: A Homemade Loaf for Spring
There’s something so tender about baking for someone you love. A humble loaf, like the orange pistachio one I shared with my friend, wrapped simply in parchment and a linen towel. It says, "I thought of you." It doesn’t have to be complicated to be meaningful.
What I’m Cooking From: A Favorite Cookbook (or a Set)
Cookbooks can be love letters to tradition, to flavor, to possibility. The Essential Ottolenghi boxed set, featuring Plenty More and Ottolenghi Simple, offers Middle Eastern-inspired, vegetable-centric recipes. Perfect for those who find joy in the kitchen, viewing cooking as both art and meditation.
What I’m Growing: A Mini Tea Garden
A container filled with spearmint, lemon balm, and chamomile creates a tiny apothecary of calm. Perfect for a sunny porch or a kitchen doorstep. Every time she snips a sprig for her cup, she’ll be reminded that care is something we grow, season after season. For a simple calming blend, I love using two parts spearmint, one part lemon balm, and one part chamomile. Consider adding a beautiful glass teapot to show off vibrant herbs.
What I’m Remembering: A Handwritten Letter
In a world of texts and emails, a handwritten letter feels like a small miracle. Tell her a memory you treasure. Tell her what you’ve learned from her. Tell her she is seen, she is loved. (You might be surprised how much it means.)
What I’m Seeking: A Walk in Nature
A walk through the woods. A visit to the lake. A slow stroll through a blooming garden. Movement without hurry. Conversation without agenda. The simplest settings often hold the richest moments.
What I’m Tending: A Soil Blocker for the Gardener at Heart
For the one who loves starting seeds and getting their hands in the soil, a soil blocker is a small but mighty tool. It invites an intentional, more sustainable way to begin a garden, one block of soil at a time. (The Swift Blocker nano series is simple, beautiful, and built to last — and made right here in Michigan by some of our dear college friends.)
What I’m Planting: Spring Bulbs for Future Blooms
The most lasting gifts often begin in quiet seasons. A collection of spring bulbs (tulips, daffodils, crocuses) paired with the promise of helping to plant them in the fall. A simple act of care that brings beauty year after year, a quiet reminder each spring of love rooted deep in the soil. We’ve been very happy with the crocuses (seen above) and peony-style, double tulips from Eden Brothers.
What I’m Gifting: A Gift Certificate for a Restorative Experience
Sometimes the best gift is an open door: an art class, a farm-to-table dinner, a sauna session, or a yoga membership (like Strala Yoga online or through her favorite local studio). A way to step out of the everyday and into a space of renewal. A gentle reminder that her well-being matters, too.
What I’m Making: Masa and a Tortilla Press from Masienda
For the one who finds joy in making food from the ground up, quite literally. Masienda’s heirloom masa harina and a simple tortilla press make it easy to turn masa into tender, beautiful tortillas. A gift of nourishment, tradition, and hands-on joy. These are the best tortillas we’ve ever tasted!
What I’m Sharing: A Shared Meal Made with Love
Cook together. Set the table. Light a candle, even if it's just Tuesday. Food tastes different when it’s made with love — and shared with someone who feels like home. Consider a meal inspired by the suggestions above or from our seasonal cookbook club.
Next month’s cookbook club pick feels especially meaningful because it is our very first reader’s choice selection, chosen by our paid subscribers. Thank you for voting and helping shape this community!
Here’s what we will be cooking from next month…
May 2025
Cookbook: Feel Good Food by Jeanine Donofrio
Feel Good Food is full of the kind of recipes that meet you where you are: bright, nourishing meals you can pull together on an ordinary Wednesday or linger over on a slow Sunday. Organized around real-life needs (like make-ahead favorites, feel-good lunches, and weeknight dinners), it’s a book that invites you to cook based on how you want to feel: energized, comforted, restored. Expect plenty of fresh, colorful, vegetable-forward recipes that feel just right for spring and early summer.
In Closing
This season, may we honor the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, friends, and nurturing souls who have shaped us and the ways we mother ourselves and one another.
May we celebrate not with grand gestures, but with small offerings of presence, beauty, and love.
May we slow down enough to savor them.
I'd love to hear: what simple gifts or rituals are you savoring this season?
With love and care,
Dr. Michelle
P.S. As we honor the nurturing figures in our lives, I also want to acknowledge the deeper complexities that often go unseen. Supporting women's health, including advancing research, matters deeply. When we invest in the well-being of women, we strengthen the health of our families, our communities, and future generations. I’m grateful to see recent steps toward reinstating funding for the Women's Health Initiative, and for physicians like
, who are helping to amplify these important conversations.Here are my most recent Substack sharings:
Michelle, these are such well-conceived ideas that would foster deeper connection for any mother-child pair and something for any age. I worry our children and families don't have enough of this off-screen time spent together. Now, how to sneak this list somewhere to be seen by my kids...hmmmm?