In May 2023, Thibault- then Sarah- began a weekly newsletter called Art Date to write about art, creativity, burn-out, and finding more agency and connection in the sprawling isolation of Los Angeles. What resulted was a wild year filled with rejections, wins, an appearance on Good Morning America, a digital detox, and the beginning of a multi-year process of coming out as trans.

One Messy Year is the first in a series of essay compilations archiving the Art Date writings. This comprehensive collection from May 2023-May 2024 includes essays that have previously gone unpublished.