The Last Romantic
The Roman Forum at night: floodlit temple columns, the Arch of Septimius Severus, and the Colosseum glowing in the distance

The Last Romantic

four worlds, one writer.

Memoir, solo travel, a true story from 2020, and letters to people I love: the things most people would rather not say out loud. By Suki Song.

start here → letters, by hand →

Suki Song · writer, solo traveler and lovergirl · Made in Seoul · Based in Austin

Forty letters Four series Since September 2025 All writing →
A carved stone facade: in a niche beneath a plaque reading FAUST UND HELENA, a marble Faust embraces a half-draped Helena, cherubs hold a wreath over a bust above, a tall column rises beside them. Letter № 15 · Essays and Letters · 10 min Why on Earth Would You Ask Me?
the shop

Order a letter written by hand, or a mystery book chosen for you.

A letter, by hand

For a birthday, an apology, a thank-you, or no reason at all. I write it, seal it, and post it anywhere in the world.

$50 once · $40 a month · postage included · in the post within two weeks

Order a letter · $50

A mystery book, and a letter about why

A book I chose for them, wrapped so the title stays a secret until it is opened, with a letter in my hand about why I chose it. Tell me a few books they have loved and I will find the next one. Every month, if you like.

$75 once · $65 a month · postage included · anywhere in the US

Order a mystery book · $75
The author's tattooed hand holds a red pen over an open notebook; her black Lab sits nearby in a lamplit, book-lined study
Domed stone facade of Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum under a pale grey sky, exhibition banners above its doors
Pl. 01Vienna, Austria
A snow-dusted wooden pier marked 'Lahn' juts into Lake Hallstatt, mountains rising across still water under a clear sky
Pl. 02Hallstatt, Austria
Ornate carved wooden doors in a baroque stone facade in Mexico City, the building numbered 44
Pl. 03Mexico City, Mexico
01 / 04 the memoir

The Memoir

The closet, the crayon, the eight words: my life, unfiltered.

01

The Memoir, Prologue: From the Desk of The Last Romantic

The Black Sheep of the Family

 Chapter No. 01 · The Memoir · 7 min 02

The Memoir: The Lesser of Two Evils

Blame the Artist, they all do anyways.

 Chapter No. 02 · The Memoir · 5 min 03

The Memoir: A Dozen Shih Tzus, or Me?

At this point, am I just a bunch of dogs stuffed in a trench coat?

 Chapter No. 03 · The Memoir · 4 min
all eleven chapters →
02 / 04 bourdainism

Bourdainism

Solo travel essays in the Bourdain tradition: raw, present, cinematic.

12

Bourdainism in Austin: The Land of Inhale

But life, is about balance. When do I exhale, exactly?

 Austin, Texas · 25 Sep 2026 · 7 min 11

Bourdainism in San Juan: The Art of Being Witnessed

Thank you for your patience.

 San Juan, Puerto Rico · 27 Mar 2026 · 5 min 10

Bourdainism in Cartagena and Coralina Island: Colombia, Bad Buddy, Immigration, Metacognition and Breaking the Silence on My Last Marriage

Featuring animals, reflections and my love of Colombian culture

 Cartagena, Colombia · 13 Feb 2026 · 8 min
all twelve letters →
Sheer black curtains enclose a glowing gold chandelier hung above a shimmering square of copper pennies in a gallery
Pl. 04Psychedelics, Ulysses
Hallstatt's Bone House: rows of skulls painted with names and flowers on shelves beneath candles and a crucifix
Pl. 05The Bone House, Hallstatt
03 / 04 the four c’s

The Four C’s

COVID, a cartel, a con man, a murder: a true story from 2020.

02

Mexico and the Four C’s Prologue: The Movie of Life, Musings, and Day 0

Audio included.

Letter № 02 · The Four C’s · 4 min 01

read_me: How to Read My Substack and Get the Most Out of This Free Book: The Four C’s: COVID, the Cartel, Conspiracy Theories, and Cryptocurrency

Subscribers new and old, start here as your guide. I’m not an organized narrator, and I don’t think my audience needs one.

 Letter № 01 · The Four C’s · 6 min
both letters →
Pl. 06 – 08 plates
Empty wooden bench under trees facing calm water and a pastel orange-and-blue sunset
Pl. 06Coralina Island, Colombia
Empty beach at dusk, footprints across dark sand as waves break under a deep blue sky fading to orange at the horizon
Pl. 07El Tunco, El Salvador
Rodin's bronze Eternal Springtime, two entwined lovers, spotlit on a pedestal in a quiet museum gallery
Pl. 08Athens, Greece
04 / 04 essays & letters

Essays & Letters

Letters to people I love, healing notes, the work in between.

15

Why on Earth Would You Ask Me?

Lessons on love from a twice-divorced romantic. The résumé says no. If you believe in growth, change, and honesty, read on anyway.

 Letter № 15 · Essays and Letters · 10 min 14

Obsession Is Not Love, and Neither is Intensity

For the manic-pixie-dream girls who have been devoured and discarded, repeatedly, tasked with filling a void in a man that can’t be filled.

 Letter № 14 · Essays and Letters · 9 min 13

The Siren Is a Rectangle

A poem, from being from a different age. A poem, on how my search for my soulmate continues. Cue the Current Joys...

 Letter № 13 · Essays and Letters · 4 min
all fifteen letters →
Pl. 09 – 18 the wall
Stone ruins and green terraces of Machu Picchu under a bright blue sky, framed by trees and Andean peaks Machu Picchu, Peru The author sits against giant lit-up EL TUNCO letters at night, beside a glowing Surf City El Salvador surfboard sign El Tunco, El Salvador A gray street cat mid-yawn on a cobblestone plaza in Old San Juan, palm trunks and pastel buildings behind it Old San Juan Love, a black Lab, lies in the grass on a leash with her tongue out, looking up at the camera. Love The author stands waist-deep in the sea, facing the horizon where a distant sailboat sits under a pale sky Hallstatt and Oberautal The Louvre's glass pyramid glowing at night in an empty courtyard, an equestrian statue lit against the dark sky Paris, France The author in sunglasses with an orange leather bag, standing on the bridge before Castel Sant'Angelo under a blue sky Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome Crumbling brick facade of a colonial church ruin beside a white chapel in Casco Viejo, under a moody overcast sky Casco Viejo, Panama Lobster pasta, wine, and sparkling water on a restaurant table facing the Pantheon's columns across a rainy piazza Rome, the Pantheon Ornate palace room with red damask walls, crystal chandeliers, frescoed ceiling, and a Christmas tree through the doorway Rome, Christmas week
Stained-glass ceiling of the Gran Hotel Ciudad de México arching over tiers of curved iron-railed balconies
Pl. 19 Gran Hotel Ciudad de México Mexico City

Plate 20 / 20

I kissed zero Italians while in Italy.

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01 / 05
Empty wooden bench under trees facing calm water and a pastel orange-and-blue sunset
Pl. 06Coralina Island, Colombia
Empty beach at dusk, footprints across dark sand as waves break under a deep blue sky fading to orange at the horizon
Pl. 07El Tunco, El Salvador
Rodin's bronze Eternal Springtime, two entwined lovers, spotlit on a pedestal in a quiet museum gallery
Pl. 08Athens, Greece
Stained-glass ceiling of the Gran Hotel Ciudad de México arching over tiers of curved iron-railed balconies
Pl. 19Gran Hotel Ciudad de México, Mexico City

I kissed zero Italians while in Italy.

read the letter → get the next one →