JODY WINER

The story of
HUNGRY AWAKE ASTONISHED

In 2019, I visited Toronto for three months. Taking my dog on her first walk around the block, I spotted a small sign posted in the bay window of an old brick house. Black capital letters inserted between horizontal strips composed three lines: IN ONE/BREATH/I WAKE. The next morning, a new message was posted. And so on, thereafter. The words sent my mind spinning.

One day, I asked a woman outside the house about the sign. She said it was the work of her husband, a writer; and that the phrases were things he made up, or read somewhere and liked. She told me I might see him at his desk in the window—wearing a hat, glasses, and oxygen tank. A few days later, I did. I waved, steepled my hands in gratitude, and bowed. He stepped outside briefly and introduced himself as Michael.

On my last day in Toronto, I left a note in Michael’s mailbox:

Seeing the new phrase you post each morning when I walk around the block has been a wondrous part of this summer. Thank you again for those miraculous daily morsels.

Back in New York, I received his e-mail reply:

….My wife returned home one day with the sign box and ever since I have been casting messages out into the world. My hope is to momentarily change the chemistry of somebody's day, to suggest another path….

It's what I hoped for, that somebody might take some solace or interest in the words. So thank you for making that true, and taking the time to pass a little bit of light along. Damn swell of you.

In early 2020, I returned to Toronto. After the pandemic hit hard, most of us were living restricted lives, shuttered behind windows and doors. Through shock and lockdowns, the sign gave me a destination, sense of structure, and joy. Over the year, I became friends with Michael, his wife, and their son.

This book is a chronological record of the messages—and local color—that comforted, surprised, intrigued, tickled, baffled, and inspired. An ephemeral treasure, the sign speaks for itself; and in this dark time has delighted many in the neighborhood who happen to look that way as they walk by.

Jody Winer
Toronto, February 2021