Valentine’s Day can be romantic. Complicated. Corny. Loaded. Sometimes all of the above.
For me, it’s always had a softer meaning. My father was a commercial fisherman—strong hands, few words. But every Valentine’s Day, he bought my mother gladiolas. Never roses. He chose a thoughtful card, signed his name, and added tiny X’s—one for each year they’d been married. It was subtle. Tender. Which made it unforgettable.
One of my father’s Valentine’s cards to my mother. 1966.
When I left for college, the tradition followed me. Flowers. A card. Proof that love didn’t need spectacle.
I’m married—40-plus years later—to the same man. He picked up where my father left off. Flowers still arrive. Gifts too. The cards faded out somewhere along the way. That feels alright.
What I know now is this: Romance is lovely. But love starts closer to home.
Love yourself. Put yourself at the center. Buy the earrings. Splurge on the lip gloss. Take dance lessons.
This week, we’re treating Valentine’s Day not as an obligation, but as a reminder. To love broadly. Yourself included.
This edition reflects that: humor from Abby (inevitable), a spicy piece on pleasure and agency, a book roundup, and a new PROVOKED writer bravely trying something new at 70.
Love is still real even though Valentine’s Day can feel like an expensive performance review. From panic reservations to emotional scorekeeping, this holiday now asks women to star in, manage, and assess romance all at once. Here’s a smarter, funnier look at how Valentine’s Day sold out—and why we still kind of love it anyway.
She thought vibrators were only for women who needed help—until she realized that belief was unfounded. A sharp, funny, deeply honest essay about pleasure, agency, and what happens when a confident “Samantha” finally questions her own mythology—and puts several assumptions (and toys) to the test. READ MORE
Learning to dance on pointe at 70 isn’t about ballet—it’s about defying gravity, expectation, and the quiet rules of aging. A joyful, clear-eyed look at what happens when curiosity outlives caution—and why reaching for the impossible still matters. READ MORE
TAKE NOTE
🎬 Heathcliff, it’s me, I’m Cathy, I’ve come home. Historical romance and gothic novel lovers rejoice; Valentine’s Day welcomes Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights to theaters. The edgy director brings a star-studded cast of Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi to the classic tragedy of Cathy and Heathcliff. Elordi is no Laurence Olivier, but comparisons can wait. Given Fennell’s filmography—including Salt Burn (2023) and Promising Young Woman (2020)—this adaptation promises to be anything but a rote retelling.
💔 Does Camelot still matter? Ryan Murphy’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette premieres today on FX and Hulu, revisiting one of America’s most enduring modern myths. Naomi Watts, 57, plays Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. For women who watched Bessette redefine cool, privacy, and restraint under relentless scrutiny, this isn’t a Valentine’s love story—it’s unfinished emotional business. Camelot continues to simmer because it promised glamour and goodness, love and dignity, and a kind of elegance that feels almost extinct. Far from a perfect love story. But one we’re still reckoning with.
🏈 Women now make up nearly half the Super Bowl audience—but the spectacle is still men on the field. Which is why this year’s quiet power shift to women mattered. From Maria Taylor presenting the Lombardi Trophy and anchoring NBC’s five-hour pregame and Jody Allen overseeing the winning team, to ads that centered daughters, girls, and female succession, the signals were subtle but unmistakable. We rounded up 10 of the women who didn’t just show up on Super Bowl Sunday—they shaped it.
Curated book recs for women who actually pay attention to each other. These are books for best friends, ride-or-dies, grief buddies, late-night truth tellers, and the ones who deserve something better than a novelty mug. Thoughtful, sexy, soulful reads to give—or keep—this Valentine’s week. READ MORE
READER SPOTLIGHT
“Self-acknowledgement is a blessing but self-acceptance is what propels us forward. Religion can make or break us as guilt is definitely a load carried primarily by women. I still struggle with finding a place to celebrate my continuing faith eight years after allowing myself to finally be free of my traditional upbringing.” — Lyrah on The Church Girl’s Guide to Wanting More
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⌨️ Our newsletter and articles are written by Susan and the talented writers of PROVOKED. Get to know the women behind themhere.
Editor-In-Chief, Founder
Susan has spent decades pivoting from one extraordinary career to the next, proving that reinvention isn’t just possible; it’s necessary. From designing nuclear submarines as a naval architect to shaping brand strategy as a Disney executive and Nestlé brand manager, from competing as a professional poker player to founding an international educational consulting business, her career has been anything but conventional. The throughline becomes clear: Susan thrives where curiosity meets challenge.
Now, as the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of PROVOKEDmagazine, she’s once again reinventing herself, channeling that same energy into a media platform that unapologetically questions, disrupts, and redefines the conversation for women. This isn’t just about aging—it’s about autonomy, ambition, and agency.
When she’s not stirring the pot asking big questions, she’s being kept in check by her two millennial children, who refuse to let her act her age, and her cheeky Frenchie, Pippin, who clearly runs the show. Much of her tech support comes from her husband of over 40 years, a fellow nerd who thinks date night includes a deep dive into Google analytics. A lifelong traveler with more moves than she can count, Susan is pretty sure she holds an unofficial world record in relocating.
You can follow Susan on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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