Surviving a Hellish Summer of Ticks
Reporting live from the epicenter of Lyme. Plus: are "cherries on ice" over before they've even begun? And Suzie Kondi's wellness-happy Hamptons
I got Lyme at an A-list actress’s house in East Hampton a couple years ago (I’ll tell you who if we chat at a party). Walking through her elegant seagrass, a tick attached to my ankle, and a bullseye like a big, itchy pink donut appeared not long afterward. I was one of the lucky ones because I caught it right away and was able to take antibiotics. But I spent weeks in a malaria-like haze. After that, we started spraying our property with the kind of scary chemicals that mean kids and dogs can’t play in your yard for 24 hours.
Tick-borne illnesses are one of the hidden horrors of life out east. The New York Times called the situation a “nightmare,” and MIT biologist Kevin Esvelt called it a “natural disaster” and a “plague.” With Lyme but also alpha-gal, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, and Powassan virus on the rise, and the Fordham Tick Index hitting a 10/10 this summer, I thought it was time for a THC SOTU on Lyme and the like.
In today’s jam-packed free newsletter, tick horror stories, the latest fads in tick protection, and local journalist Amanda Fairbanks on her upcoming cultural history of Lyme, “Tick Boom.” On a lighter note, we’ve also got a look at the summer’s reigning food trend, “cherries on ice,” and a Hamptons Ten with the queen of “sets,” Suzie Kondi.
Are ‘Cherries on Ice’ the Next Butter Sculptures?
I’ve started seeing “cherries on ice” at Hamptons and North Fork parties and backyard gatherings. The dish—known as ciliegie su ghiaccio since forever in Italy—is more of a composition than a recipe. It’s just fresh cherries on ice cubes, the more photogenic the better. Food writer Alton Brown had the $9 cherries on ice at downtown New York wine bar Casetta a while back and declared it one of the best desserts he’s had. When the dish was served at a Puck dinner at Café Deco in Bloomsbury, London, this summer, it was photographed more than the guests were. Who better than the empress of party food, Laila Gohar, to weigh in on this non-dessert dessert trend? “We’ve reached peak everything,” she told me ruefully. “The internet ruins it all,” said the chef and artist who’s made a life-size carousel of vegetables and furniture made of bread. So she wouldn’t serve cherries on ice? “I would still do it,” she said. “But I wouldn’t post it.”
What to Know Now:
The New York War on Ticks is Ramping Up: This month, Senator Chuck Schumer announced that he’s seeking $273.5 million in federal funding to combat tick-borne diseases. Schumer, who has himself had Lyme, knows his demographic: New York state, and specifically Suffolk County have some of the highest rates of tick-borne illnesses in the world.
It’s Not Just Lyme. Great. New York recently confirmed its first case of Bourbon virus, yet another addition to a roster of several tick-borne illnesses to be cautious of, including: the common Lyme disease, bacterial Anaplasmosis, parasitic infection Babesiosis, bacterial infection Ehrlichiosis, red-meat allergy Alpha-gal syndrome, the rare but serious Powassan virus, rare bacterial infection Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Hard tick relapsing fever, and the rare Heartland Virus.
Is a Vaccine on the Horizon? Potentially. Pfizer and Valneva are in the late stages of development of a Lyme vaccine. Interestingly, there was a Lyme vaccine from 1998 to 2002, which was pulled from the market for low demand.
A Tick Book I Can’t Wait to Read:
Amanda Fairbanks, the Sag Harbor author of The Lost Boys of Montauk, just turned in her latest book, “TICK BOOM: A Biography of Lyme Disease, the Growing Epidemic Lurking in Plain Sight,” to be published in April 2027. The writer, whose own experience of chronic Lyme drove her to write the book, looks at the cultural history of Lyme through a personal point of view.
How did your understanding of tick-borne disease change while reporting the book?
Prior to reporting this book, I don’t think I appreciated its history, or how and why it remains such a contested disease — perhaps the most controversial of the modern era. I was diagnosed with a CDC-positive test for Lyme in 2019, after being misdiagnosed the previous fall and consequently delaying antibiotics. Over the years I had become a quasi-expert, mostly because the disease kept disrupting my life in countless ways. But this book humbled me.
I’m not a science person, and I’m certainly not a medical writer. After two years of reporting, I’ve come to appreciate not only how complicated these tick-borne diseases are, but also how fast they’re shape-shifting, and how quickly the endemic map is growing. It’s one of those subjects where the more you learn, the more you understand how little anyone knows. I keep coming back to something Allen Steere — the brilliant rheumatologist who helped discover the disease, and who has a chapter of his own in the book — told me: “Our understanding is always incomplete. Always.”
Are Hamptonites too worried about ticks, or not worried enough?
We live in a beautiful part of the world that also happens to be the most endemic county in New York State. The best prevention is not getting bitten. Failing that, it’s starting treatment fast. The diagnostics are terrible. The antibiotics aren’t exactly new. And what the disease does to one person’s immune system versus another’s is something scientists genuinely cannot yet explain.
It may not be the deadliest disease of our generation, but it might be the most neglected. Hundreds of thousands of new cases a year, a test that misses most early infections, and no consensus about what’s happening to the patients who don’t get better. That combination — enormous, common, and unsolved — is what I can’t get over.
So, no, I don’t think we can be worried enough. One of my Instagram followers put it perfectly: the twentieth century was afraid of sharks, and the twenty-first is afraid of ticks. This is no longer a matter of six degrees of separation. If you haven’t been bitten yourself, you almost certainly know someone who has. And the symptoms are maddening in their range: swollen joints, a sudden allergy to red meat, psychiatric symptoms that arrive out of nowhere.
Every time I see a child rolling around in the sea grass, I have to physically restrain myself from becoming that woman on the beach, the one shouting about ticks at strangers.
What’s it like writing a book while still living with chronic Lyme?
This is a deeply personal book, and one I’d have had no interest in writing if I hadn’t gotten sick myself. The disease rewired my immune system in ways my doctors are still discovering, which makes it a daily lesson in humility. I can’t push the way I used to. My body won’t permit it. What it has given me is an enormous amount of empathy — not only for patients like me, but for the researchers trying to solve this maddening puzzle.
Chronic Lyme (or the less politically charged Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome) was the dress rehearsal for Long COVID, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia. For half a century, it has represented the frustrating reality of patients who are profoundly sick despite normal-looking lab tests. Medical science is still struggling to grasp that lesson.
I hope parts of this book speak to people with other chronic or undiagnosed conditions. Tens of millions of Americans. The thing that binds us together is as simple as it is awful: what it means to sit in a room with a doctor, describe your symptoms, and be believed.
Anonymous Tick Horror Stories!
A vegan who contracted Alpha Gal on Shelter Island:
I was caught by surprise, feeling very under the weather thinking it was a summer flu but it progressed to severe hives, swollen face and difficulty breathing. The ER couldn’t diagnose it, until days later a test revealed it was alpha-gal from a tick bite. Being vegan at the time it made no sense, until we discovered all my supplements were coated/capsulated in gelatin (meat derived).
A jetsetter who contracted Lyme in East Hampton a couple days ago:
I received a Lyme diagnosis last weekend after a rough day of some fatigue and body aches. The urgent care scene was something out of a South Park episode. It was very hot out and so we all had cold beers in the parking lot while waiting our turn to see the doctor. I’ve had zero appetite these past 8 days on the antibiotics and so I guess the takeaway is that getting Lyme is like a free prescription for Mounjaro.
A CEO who contracted Lyme on Shelter Island and got a spinal tap:
The first time I was diagnosed with Lyme it caused a Bell’s palsy. The second time, not long after, my symptoms were joint pain and fatigue. The doctor wanted to know if it was the same strain so he sent me for a spinal tap. They give you an anesthetic block, but it’s still deeply uncomfortable. And during the procedure blood got into my spinal column. When that happens you can’t stand up—it causes a debilitating pain in the head, like the worst headache ever—and I spent a week horizontal, in bed, unable to stand up or walk around.
Suzie Kondi’s Easy Breezy Hamptons
Fashion designer Suzie Kondi spent 13 months sailing to New York from Australia in the late 1990s, and went on to create a fashion empire built on “sets” beloved by the likes of Jenna Lyons and Martha Stewart. Kondi, who’s one of the anchors of the Amagansett shopping district with her eponymous store, answers our signature questionnaire:
Describe your perfect Hamptons day.
Funnily enough, today was my perfect Hamptons day. It started early with a walk from Two Mile Hollow up to Indian Wells with the dogs, a long swim, watching dolphins playing just off the break. Then an infrared pilates class at Align in Amagansett and straight to Goldberg’s for flagels (a flat bagel), cream cheese, salmon and red onion that I caramelize at home to make extra delicious.
The middle of the day belongs to the store — backgammon with clients and friends, which is really what my shop is for. Then back to the beach with my book, home for a swim, more backgammon with my daughter Stevie, who beats me more often than she should. Balsam Farms for blackberries and blueberries picked that morning, then an early dinner for the houseful of family and friends out from Australia and the city, chicken pesto pasta, more backgammon.
What’s your favourite spot for a drink?
I’m not a drinker at all, but I love a French Bloom at Il Buco al Mare or Moby’s. Both are properly local — Moby’s is owned by Lincoln, a fellow Aussie, so always good for a laugh, and Il Buco is just up the street from the store, an easy stroll back.
What’s your secret shopping spot?
Honestly, Amagansett. EE Home for the most beautiful home things, essential and entirely non-essential, and The Row for the expensive but must-have leather flip flops.
Who would you love to bump into at the farmer’s market?
Paul McCartney. Always up for a chat, and the absolute loveliest.
What would be your dream dinner: spot, order, company?
HOME! Something home cooked from whatever Balsam Farms has that week, a long table, family and friends, no ceremony. The table doesn’t need to be beautiful, it just needs to be full.
What’s your advice to newbies about a visit out East?
The Hamptons is a bunch of small towns with year-round locals. Slow down and hit the beach, farm stands, and just enjoy the beauty. It’s the simple things here that are the best.
Where do you go in the Hamptons to be alone?
The beach at sunrise — the light does something to the water that I’m forever trying to get into my dye lab. Also my garden, as often as I can, just listening to the birds.
What’s your go-to gift for hosts/hostesses?
Pottery from Pãn Pottery. The potter is a friend, I’ve been collecting his work for years, and this year we finally collaborated — the glazes are extraordinary, which is obviously my weak spot. I also love Noén body oil by Natalie Mankarious, another Aussie out here, a collection built around Cleopatra and the ritual of taking care of yourself. Never a candle, we’re better than that.
Who makes the best lobster roll?
Carissa’s makes a pretty great lobster roll. But the best is Mary’s Fish Camp, newly reopened in the West Village — which does me no good out here at all. Please open in the Hamptons.
What’s the perfect book to read in the Hamptons?
Everyone needs to read The Song of Achilles, and then Circe. Not new, but a must read. I read constantly out here in summer, always from BookHampton.
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Great reminder about being careful. I believe the old tick vaccine was discontinued because of side effects that led to the plummeting demand. There's a safe one for dogs that we use for our dog. About time we had a safe one for humans!