I love the idea of "emerging" in midlife! I have an upcoming post about it, but I really love the action your taking about that. I don't think I can join a group right now, but I'm going to keep the idea on my radar.
Yesterday I had a piece published in Open Secrets about my journey with infertility. I have a bit of a vulnerability hangover but it's been really powerful to read the comments from other women who have been through it too.
Thank you for sharing this here -- somehow I missed it. It's such a beautiful and honest piece, and I can only imagine the vulnerability hangover. And yes it resonates with others. How could it not? It's written in truth and love.
Oh my gosh, this made my heart hurt. Thank you for being so honest. My oldest is a HS senior this year, and while I'm so excited for him, I'm a little scared for me. We're very close and I will miss him. He has two younger brothers, so I have many years to go until the house is empty, but I feel a shift beginning. This era of motherhood is past the halfway point for me now, and it breaks my heart a little even as I know all is as it should be.
I'm getting back into writing short humor pieces while also doing something that resembles writing a novel. It's quite a thing to stretch these muscles again.
I'm feeling okay about Substack, and based on a previous suggestion from Midstack, am working on creating a posting schedule that is a little more reliable than "Hey, I should write something."
The second is a piece with four mini case studies where looking at the data/metrics expanded the story in someone's mind about what they thought was happening inside their Substack publication.
Otherwise, my SS posts have slowed up as I am working on my book. Oh, and trying to get a writing residency (for the same reason... book) as well as submitting to other places.
Honestly, I used some of my summer to write a screenplay to enter into a contest and I also got back to writing on Medium, as I'd neglected that for months. I wrote a tribute to the Barbenheimer summer, only two years ago but a different world for me and for many, I'm sure, another Medium piece honoring the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, and a piece confessing my obsession with YouTube reaction videos. As for my Substack publications, I managed to write two more chapters of my novel-in-progress, Before the Bad. Here's the latest chapter: https://becklesjm.substack.com/p/before-the-bad-chapter-ten
I posted a few things, but have really slowed down. Hoping to re-engage the writing muscles this fall, taking a few classes, nurturing a few ideas. I'm often quite aspirational about fall, though it often fizzles. TBD.
Midlife on the Beach, about the tyranny of bodies and bathing suits:
I’ve been commenting a lot on different subs lately and I’m back in Amanda Montei’s writing group after a 6 month hiatus. There’s a lot of grief tied to this time of year since the death of my uncle 3 years ago and I haven’t known if I want to write through it anymore. I’ve been writing a ton of Reddit comments about The Summer I turned Pretty and have wondered if I should write another piece about it too. It hits me hard as a mom of brothers.
It’s been Winter here in the Southern/Eastern Hemisphere, my absolute FAVOURITE time of the year, when I can fling the windows open even in the dry, dusty months. It's certainly better than having the air conditioning running 24/7.
Over the past few months, I’ve been finding my footing on Substack, and these have been a few of my favourite pieces to write:
Last winter, Feb 2 to be exact, my girlfriend's son went missing. He was/is 22 years old. Twenty three if he is still alive...He went to Mount Tremblant on a ski trip and went to a bar. He walked out and was never seen again. There was every search imaginable and his wallet was found a month later in a parking lot. But no Liam. I have my own theories of what happened. But they do not matter because he is still missing. And no he didn't run away, or fall into a snowbank. They did not find him in the spring. It is now September. I have been writing about this. This breaks my heart and all I can do is write and raise awareness. Jennifer Harris
I am so deeply sorry to hear of Liam's disappearance. As a parent, this strikes a fear that runs so deep no one can imagine unless it's experienced. I hold hope for Liam, his mother and you.
Thank-you. I wrote a book about child loss having had several different types of losses. They are all hard in impossible ways. But this! I think the impossible thing is that the police can’t share what they are working on. Secondly, everyone wants you to hope but you know you have to accept a reality with the passage of time. Third, none of your theories can be matched with reality until he is found and there are clues and hopefully answers. It’s like watching a show that you have to leave without knowing the ending. And repeating that daily. I don’t know how his mother is doing it, but she is. No one should have to, but she is . There is nothing I can do but offer support. Such a sad, awful situation. Thank you for commenting. Jennifer
Thank-you Erica. We want answers too. And the sooner, the better. And then will come accountability if that is needed. Thank you for commenting. Jennifer
Hi friends - A few of my posts from this summer are below, with various midlife topics:
gen(der)ation gap: about gender expansiveness in younger generations
https://jenberlingo.substack.com/p/genderation-gap
you still haven't met all of the people who are going to love you: finding community in midlife
https://jenberlingo.substack.com/p/you-still-havent-met-all-of-the-people
I just dropped my kid off at college - what's this mean for my anxiety?
https://jenberlingo.substack.com/p/i-just-dropped-my-kid-off-at-college
Jen, I love that idea that you still haven't met all the people who will love you! Your program sounds so interesting, too.
thank you! join us... there are a few spots left!
I love the idea of "emerging" in midlife! I have an upcoming post about it, but I really love the action your taking about that. I don't think I can join a group right now, but I'm going to keep the idea on my radar.
Thank you so much for this note, Erica! You might enjoy my book on this topic: Midlife Emergence: https://amzn.to/41z4Rhj
Can't wait to read your post!
Yesterday I had a piece published in Open Secrets about my journey with infertility. I have a bit of a vulnerability hangover but it's been really powerful to read the comments from other women who have been through it too.
https://open.substack.com/pub/opensecretsmag/p/infertilty-career-path-childfree-not-by-choice
This is such a raw piece. Thank you for sharing it. (I am also working on an Open Secrets vulnerable submission.)
Thank you for sharing this here -- somehow I missed it. It's such a beautiful and honest piece, and I can only imagine the vulnerability hangover. And yes it resonates with others. How could it not? It's written in truth and love.
Thank you, Jackie. ❤️
Those emotional hangovers can be hard! Thanks for sharing! Such a great piece!
Thank you!
https://substack.com/@fellonymellony/note/p-170330456?r=m507s&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Oh my gosh, this made my heart hurt. Thank you for being so honest. My oldest is a HS senior this year, and while I'm so excited for him, I'm a little scared for me. We're very close and I will miss him. He has two younger brothers, so I have many years to go until the house is empty, but I feel a shift beginning. This era of motherhood is past the halfway point for me now, and it breaks my heart a little even as I know all is as it should be.
This is really beautiful and honest!
thank you for this! I also just wrote a piece about my only child leaving the nest for college last week. 💜
Oh, is this a gorgeous piece...I'm about to have 2 fly the nest in the next year...so, yup.
I'm a new fan!
Thank you so much! ❤️ and good luck in the coming year!
Ah, summer. What a beast.
I'm getting back into writing short humor pieces while also doing something that resembles writing a novel. It's quite a thing to stretch these muscles again.
I'm feeling okay about Substack, and based on a previous suggestion from Midstack, am working on creating a posting schedule that is a little more reliable than "Hey, I should write something."
https://jackiepick.substack.com/p/you-must-be-fun-at-parties
I've really been enjoying your humor pieces! Congrats on working on your novel, very exciting.
I love this thread! I'll share a personal and a professional one.
The first is this piece on a grief practice and story about saying goodbye to my beloved dog, Georgia. https://open.substack.com/pub/thepublishingspectrum/p/goodbye-georgie-girl-and-thank-you?r=4i32v&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
The second is a piece with four mini case studies where looking at the data/metrics expanded the story in someone's mind about what they thought was happening inside their Substack publication.
https://thepublishingspectrum.substack.com/p/is-your-newsletter-stalled-is-your
I'm too distracted by the horrors unfolding in Gaza to write about anything else.
Hunger (c) deborahjones
We talk casually
of hunger
imagining the pangs
of a few meals missed
but hunger is not a dog
with a hesitant growl
slinkling in the shadows
hunger is a pack of wolves
the reek of desperation
the ache of fear
that rips you from your sleep
slavering and savage
swallowing muscle whole
stealing children in the night
it devours you from within
eating you alive,
relishing every
mouthful
we count the dead
as numbers
28 children died today.
they shrank to nothing
while the world ate popcorn
a sad statistic
santised from horror
by the mathematics
56 dismembered arms
280 matchstick toes
56 eyes too shrivelled
for tears
28 throats
too agonised
to scream
for help that never came
not even from their
weeping mothers
I am pretty proud of this one. I mean, aren't most of us writers inspired by what we read?
https://open.substack.com/pub/mlpeterswrites/p/from-silence-to-story
Otherwise, my SS posts have slowed up as I am working on my book. Oh, and trying to get a writing residency (for the same reason... book) as well as submitting to other places.
I just posted a story about making guns more accessible while banning bullets, it's SATIRE (I did not really buy a gun).
A Modest Proposal For Gun Enthusiasts
https://amygabrielle.substack.com/p/a-modest-proposal-for-gun-enthusiasts
I think Jonathan Swift (no relation) would be proud.
Thank you 🥰❤️.
Honestly, I used some of my summer to write a screenplay to enter into a contest and I also got back to writing on Medium, as I'd neglected that for months. I wrote a tribute to the Barbenheimer summer, only two years ago but a different world for me and for many, I'm sure, another Medium piece honoring the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, and a piece confessing my obsession with YouTube reaction videos. As for my Substack publications, I managed to write two more chapters of my novel-in-progress, Before the Bad. Here's the latest chapter: https://becklesjm.substack.com/p/before-the-bad-chapter-ten
I posted a few things, but have really slowed down. Hoping to re-engage the writing muscles this fall, taking a few classes, nurturing a few ideas. I'm often quite aspirational about fall, though it often fizzles. TBD.
Midlife on the Beach, about the tyranny of bodies and bathing suits:
https://open.substack.com/pub/longmiddle/p/midlife-on-the-beach?r=j2fm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
My Big Little Life, notes/a rant about a failed trip and the trap of comparison:
https://open.substack.com/pub/longmiddle/p/my-big-little-life?r=j2fm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Summer Child, a slice-of-life essay about being a kid in the 70s:
https://open.substack.com/pub/longmiddle/p/summer-child?r=j2fm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
A White Knuckle Voyage, a panic about travel - tips are much appreciated, I leave in 4 days!
https://open.substack.com/pub/longmiddle/p/a-white-knuckle-voyage?r=j2fm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Very much enjoyed the midlife on the beach post!
Thank you! 😊
I wrote about Swiftie Joy the week Taylor Swift announced her album. We had a rough end to summer with two deaths in our extended family, one of whom was a husband to my husband’s cousin and father of kids age 4 and 6. His wife said Billy sent her the new album and knew we needed it. https://open.substack.com/pub/heydary/p/taylor-swift-knew-we-needed-a-new?r=qwrmd&utm_medium=ios
I’ve been commenting a lot on different subs lately and I’m back in Amanda Montei’s writing group after a 6 month hiatus. There’s a lot of grief tied to this time of year since the death of my uncle 3 years ago and I haven’t known if I want to write through it anymore. I’ve been writing a ton of Reddit comments about The Summer I turned Pretty and have wondered if I should write another piece about it too. It hits me hard as a mom of brothers.
G'day, good humans! :)
It’s been Winter here in the Southern/Eastern Hemisphere, my absolute FAVOURITE time of the year, when I can fling the windows open even in the dry, dusty months. It's certainly better than having the air conditioning running 24/7.
Over the past few months, I’ve been finding my footing on Substack, and these have been a few of my favourite pieces to write:
* The one where I finally showed up: ...I Feel Vulnerable https://thismidlifemosaic.substack.com/p/ifeelvulnerable-25032025
* On choosing HRT, even though I was terrified: Choosing HRT https://thismidlifemosaic.substack.com/p/choosing-hrt
* And my latest, because I’m still showing up, still learning, still striving despite the fear: Letters to Myself https://thismidlifemosaic.substack.com/p/letters-to-myself
I'm excited to see what everyone else has been working on these past Summer/Winter months.
I am so sorry to hear about your mother and grandmother. It's shocking how women are constantly being failed by the medical system.
Thank you and it is. I’m hoping as a collective, we can change that.
Last winter, Feb 2 to be exact, my girlfriend's son went missing. He was/is 22 years old. Twenty three if he is still alive...He went to Mount Tremblant on a ski trip and went to a bar. He walked out and was never seen again. There was every search imaginable and his wallet was found a month later in a parking lot. But no Liam. I have my own theories of what happened. But they do not matter because he is still missing. And no he didn't run away, or fall into a snowbank. They did not find him in the spring. It is now September. I have been writing about this. This breaks my heart and all I can do is write and raise awareness. Jennifer Harris
I am so deeply sorry to hear of Liam's disappearance. As a parent, this strikes a fear that runs so deep no one can imagine unless it's experienced. I hold hope for Liam, his mother and you.
Thank-you. I wrote a book about child loss having had several different types of losses. They are all hard in impossible ways. But this! I think the impossible thing is that the police can’t share what they are working on. Secondly, everyone wants you to hope but you know you have to accept a reality with the passage of time. Third, none of your theories can be matched with reality until he is found and there are clues and hopefully answers. It’s like watching a show that you have to leave without knowing the ending. And repeating that daily. I don’t know how his mother is doing it, but she is. No one should have to, but she is . There is nothing I can do but offer support. Such a sad, awful situation. Thank you for commenting. Jennifer
That sounds utterly awful. I hope you get some answers.
Thank-you Erica. We want answers too. And the sooner, the better. And then will come accountability if that is needed. Thank you for commenting. Jennifer
I wrote about grief, being 18, and the amazing movie *My Old Ass.*
https://open.substack.com/pub/bridcro/p/summer-break-with-my-18-year-old
I wrote about what our siblings can teach us.
https://open.substack.com/pub/mandyb1/p/life-lessons-from-our-siblings?r=7qqya&utm_medium=ios
Thanks, Liza!
Hi everyone :) I manager to write two pieces last week (after many many months off).
The first one is about the life philosophy my father has bestowed me:
https://mariamouskou.substack.com/p/seeking-peace-and-avocados
The second one is about going a bit mad while trying to unravel mind games in my marriage:
https://mariamouskou.substack.com/p/i-dont-know-the-rules-and-i-am-slowly