I'm back! (And I have a new project, too.)
Let's blow the cyber dust off this thing and see if it still works.
Hi. Remember me? You might not. I mean, 204 days have gone by since you've gotten one of these things, so it's understandable that I might be a hazy memory. I apologize for that. I could simply say that I've been busy, which is partly true, but I could also say that things have just been weird.
Let's see. How do I sum up the last six or seven months? I've lost one internal organ and gained one fake tooth since last we spoke. That's one way to put it. I've been fully vaccinated for months now, and I'm still grateful for that every single day. My behavior hasn't changed too much, though I've been to see my Mom and visited the museum. I'm not traveling, and I'm still masking indoors when out in public.
I wasn't exaggerating when I said I was busy, though. I've been working on a new non-fiction project (more below) and have had more to do at my day job. I've been sewing a t-shirt every month this year for my own "Tee of the Month Club," and I joined the board of a non-profit recently, too. I have a lot going on! It feels pretty good after a year of illness to be capable of this much busyness. I'm not fully recovered, but I'm so much better than I was last year. I still can't eat normally, but I've accepted that I may never eat the way I used to again. I may not eat whole categories of food now, but I eat to satiation, and I find pleasure in what I do eat. I'm not starving anymore, though -- that's the important thing.
But enough of that. Let's talk about my new project. I'm excited about it!
What I've Been Writing
I launched a brand new newsletter last month called "A Little Better." It's a short, twice-weekly note about incremental self-improvement. I know that sounds like a mouthful, but this is how I sum it up on the about page:
"Tiny changes build on each other over time — and when you make a lot of things a little better, you end up flourishing in new and unexpected ways."
I thought about this project for a long time. I started kicking around ideas for it after I wrote, "When self-help isn't helpful," back in August 2019. "A Little Better" is filled with quick, actionable ideas for incremental self-improvement that you can apply to your own life. I'm doing my best to create a safe space for people who find traditional self-help unwelcoming or problematic. For instance, self-help is rife with fatphobia and triggering passages for people in eating disorder recovery. To create a safer space, I will never use intentional weight loss as an example goal or use dieting as a metaphor in any of my posts. I hope to serve more than just middle- to upper-middle-class office workers who seem to be the cultural default in self-help, too. I want to present practical information that will be useful to a wide range of people.
I'm just getting started over there, and I'll be sending it out twice a week for at least a year. I have themed months planned to delve deeper into specific topics and will be including other extras, such as planner sheets and a quick self-study course. I've spent most of my adult life experimenting with various self-help models and sifting through a lot of problematic information. I want to give back by sharing what I've learned and sparing others the circuitous journey I had to take.
If any of that sounds like your cup of tea, please sign up for "A Little Better." You can subscribe and check out the archive here.
Until Next Time
Don't worry: This newsletter isn't going anywhere. It will remain its charming, erratically scheduled self. I may even get around to sending it more often! (I'll include a links section next time, too.) If "A Little Better" is the business-like front, "Bombastic Frippery" is the other part of my writing mullet. It's all growing out of the same head (if you catch my analogy-based drift). I'll still be writing fiction, collecting ridiculous links to pass on, and occasionally posting a Serious (or Non-Serious) Essay here.
More to come. (In less than seven months next time, I promise!)
I remain,
Sarah L. Crowder
P.S.
I hope you're all doing well out there!