There’s a lot to tell you. But first, please take the time (if you haven’t already) to watch and listen to me tell this story. It’s a blessing and a curse. I want to give you the curse of blessings.
This recording was originally intended as a gift to my friend, Susan Kacvinsky.
I met Susan, here, on Substack, and she’s an enormous blessing in my life. Yesterday, we spoke of me posting the story, and I said, “Of course, I’ll edit the mentions of you at the beginning and end, and she said I should share it as is.
As most of you know, I’ve been deeply immersed in my new project, Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam! It’s taking a lot of my time, and I’m in a new kind of heaven. I am firmly planted in my place of bliss, my place of blessings.
When I first came to Substack, my experience as a writer was quite limited. It was comprised of writing 1-3 stories a year. Each story was about 500 words long. That’s all the writing I did, on average. 1500 words a year. And it was only for the story slams I loved to perform in.
But in January 2024, all of it changed drastically, and instead of writing 1500 words a year, I began writing a minimum of 1500-2000 words a week. I’ve been telling you the stories of my life.
Writing on Substack became my first source of bliss.
The gifts that come back to me seem without limit. I’ve made new friends and discovered parts of myself I only had the smallest inkling of. Being on the platform has opened me to possibilities I’d rarely entertained, mostly due to insecurity and fear. I’ve let most of that go, but those feelings pop up now and then. And even then, I’m living the best version of the life I always dreamed of. The life of a creative person. My days are filled with love, laughter, colors galore, and lots of heart. And yes, sometimes my life is hard and scary. But I’m not as scared as I used to be.
I realized the other day–and I’ll write more about this later–that I truly am a storyteller. I almost prefer that label over the label of writer. Because it’s the whole thing for me. It’s the writing AND it’s the telling.
At first, the idea of recording audio was intimidating. But I did it anyway and loved it. The thought that I would ever video myself telling a story was out of the question. I didn’t like looking at my own image. Self-conscious, body dysmorphic, and filled with shame.
Thanks to my recovery work, that’s changed, too. Now, I can’t get enough of sharing myself, performing, and boosting others. I’m watching myself evolve in real time. A lot of you have witnessed the changes in me over the past 2 years. Some of you feel like family to me, and some of you, I’ve yet to meet. I feel so blessed.
So, briefly (I know, I know, I’m rarely brief) I want to tell you that from this point on, and into the near future, I’ll be writing and publishing one essay a month, and I’ll be posting the story slam videos after each show as a thank to you all of you.
The slams are fun and serious and important, especially now, because the slam is feminist-focused at a time when our liberties as women are being taken away and we stand to lose much more.
The slam exists as my form of activism, and my commitment to empowering women’s voices and words, and my love of introducing the people I love to other people I love.
The thing I most love about the Substack platform is the communities we build together.
The sharing of hearts, minds, passion, anger, grief, and beauty that takes place here every day.
It’s another curse of blessings. I’m grateful for each and every one of you.
I’ve come to believe that gratitude is the thing that keeps me alive and thriving. When I lose sight of my gratitude, things have a tendency to fall apart.
We need one another. None of us can do this thing called life alone. Come play with me. Here, on The Next Write Thing, or at Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam!
OR both!
The next story slam is on Saturday, March 21, at 5pm ET on Zoom. The theme is “E.R.A. Now, Dammit!” Feminism served up for your listening and watching pleasure. And the lineup this time? Amazing. But they’ve all been amazing.
Come see the show. It’s $10/ticket or if you opt in as a paid subscriber, you can come to the live show for free and you get 12 shows for the price of 10.
Please know, that if anyone wants to go to the show, but can’t swing the price, all you have to do is DM me and I’ll comp you in, always. And everything else, the stories and articles and the video of the show are free at Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam!
This month, our lineup is: Mesa Fama, Ally Hamilton, Prajna O'Hara, Jen St. Germain, Rebecca Mack ☕, Wyrd Sister, Eileen Vorbach Collins, Jazmine Becerra Green, and Abigail Thomas. I’ll be telling one, for sure.
I’m hoping that Eileen Dougharty and Mel Moseley, will tell theirs, too.
xoNan
