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
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)
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 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 one poorly socialized pet.
