For years, I wanted to make a Substack about the stuff we cut out of polite conversation, the stuff people rarely talk about, especially when it comes to work, workaholism, living in a female body in mid-life and feeling less FEMPOWERED than like a sentient pile of dust. I didn’t know what to name it or what color to make it and these things stopped me for…forever. Then one day while googling/procrastinating/brain-fog drifting, I came across a page on color theory: “The color purple is generally associated with power and ambition. Purple is also used to represent creativity, extravagance, dignity, grandeur, independence, pride, peace, mystery, and magic“ and I thought HELL YES I want to write a newsletter about: power, ambition, creativity, extravagance, dignity, grandeur, independence, pride, peace, mystery and magic. And here we are.
what should I expect from ‘extended scenes’?
Extensions of the work I already do in the world. Posts on all of the themes above, plus conversations about workaholism; extended/behind-the-scenes of Everything is Fine (the weekly podcast I co-host with Kim France); deleted chapters from my upcoming book, Ambition Monster; awkward conversations with people I love; more honesty than most people like about aging, ambition, ADHD, marriage, motherhood. Bonus: Recommendations from my day job as a beauty blogger, Ben Affleck memes, things I read or saw or touched or listened to or smelled or ate and thought “someone else should know about this thing!”
In all honesty, I want to have a more direct relationship with the readers and listeners who follow me, a place to write freely and share recommendations outside of the creep show that is social media.
free subscribers have access to
posts about culture/aging/ambition
curated lists of good and bad things
paid subscribers receive all free content plus
deleted chapters from my book
behind-the-scenes/everything I forget to mention on the podcast each week
beauty recommendations from my day job (need the best LED face mask? this is the place for you. Each month, I test dozens of new products and treatments for “mature” skin)
behind-the-scenes looks at the book writing and publishing process, including creating my next book from idea to proposal to sale to writing to….
q&as with me and, occasionally, conversations with people I love
my forever gratitude for directly supporting me and my work
about me
I’m a longtime writer and editor and podcaster and speaker/pontificator about women and work; author of the books AMBITION MONSTER (out in June) and WEIRD IN A WORLD THAT’S NOT: A CAREER GUIDE FOR MISFITS, a former tech executive, chief content officer and editor in chief of women’s lifestyle sites owned by famous people you know; the creator of the critically-acclaimed documentary podcast STIFFED with Crooked Media and the co-host of EVERYTHING IS FINE, a weekly podcast for women over 40.
I’m also middle-aged mom with ADHD. I’m from Philly, live in Los Angeles, but spent most of my adult life in NYC. I cohabitate with a surly/delightful neurodiverse teen, a male writer everyone loves (including me) and three poorly socialized pets.
