Welcome readers to the second challenge for the Yesteryear readalong!
Natalie Heller Mills built her brand on a perfectly curated traditional lifestyle. Charming farmhouse aesthetics, homemade sourdough, and a handsome cowboy husband – every post was artfully curated for her followers’ admiration. But what her followers didn’t know was that Natalie had an entire team behind her – nannies, producers, and staff – making her “perfect life” possible.
Your second challenge is to imagine you were in Natalie’s position! What aesthetic would you focus on – cottagecore, modern minimalism, ranch life, dark academia, or something else entirely?
How can you complete this task? Share a static carousel or reel featuring your chosen aesthetic and the key elements that would define it! Be sure to include a copy of Yesteryear in your post!
Remember to tag @jonathanballpublishers!
Join us on Discord to see everyone’s dream aesthetics!
2 responses to “Yesteryear Challenge Two”
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1. This was a difficult one for me because Natalie often felt abandoned by God throughout the story, yet her faith remained unwavering, even if it was a bit wonky. I don’t necessarily think her faith disappeared as much as her understanding of God shifted. For so long, she seemed to view God through the lens of rewards and punishments, and perhaps she was finally beginning to wrestle with the fact that faith doesn’t always come with easy answers.
2. Absolutely. Natalie has always been self-absorbed, and I don’t think hardship made her humble. In some ways, it made her even more insufferable. Calling herself a saint felt less like self-awareness and more like another way of convincing herself that her suffering made her special. Perhaps it was a coping mechanism, but she is no saint.
3. Yes, but it also doesn’t make sense and I think in the state she’s in this is the worst thing that could have happened to her.
4. I don’t think Natalie changed because of fame. She always believed she was entitled, better, perfect, and somehow divinely chosen. Fame simply helped maintain her perfect little world until it all came crashing down. It amplified what was already there rather than creating it.
5. Control. Natalie has always needed control, and I think she viewed Caleb as irresponsible. In her mind, she worked for that money and not Caleb. Hiding it gave her a sense of security and independence, but it also showed how little trust existed in their marriage.
6. Yes. It felt like Shannon went from “this is so cool” to realizing that something wasn’t right. Her shift made me think she was beginning to see beyond the image Natalie had created. It definitely felt like a warning that bigger problems were coming.
7. Their relationship felt stiff and awkward, almost like watching two enemies trying to be polite for the sake of appearances. It always felt as though they were playing nice rather than genuinely connecting. It was very much a “fake it till you make it” relationship.
8. Yes, I was shocked. If Caleb is as much of a conspiracy theorist as I suspect, I wonder if he even had a proper curriculum. It made me sad because how do you teach a child nothing about one of the most beautiful and important parts of the world? I imagine Clementine missed out on far more than facts. Curiosity, wonder, and exposure to different ideas all seem to have been sacrificed in favor of isolation.
9. I don’t think Natalie will be blamed. To me, it felt like Doug was using his daughter-in-law and the image of her family to sell his campaign. It was almost as if he was saying, “Look at this beautiful family. This is the American dream, and you can have it too.” The messaging felt less authentic and more like a marketing strategy built around nostalgia and idealism.
10. I think it was happening long before the campaign. Natalie was so consumed by maintaining her perfect image that she didn’t recognize how much control she was already losing. The campaign may have accelerated things, but the cracks were there all along.
11. Not really. In a strange way, it felt completely in character. Since they got married, she’s been trying to give him a purpose and direction per request of her father-in-law but she’s also been failing. She never really listens or asks Caleb what he wants… she just tries to control him like everything else.
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Challange 2 has been posted
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