One Year Later

a year's worth of newsletters contain an awful lot

Just about a year ago, I signed on to substack for the first time. I had the idea to serialize the novel I wrote, putting it up on this newsletter site one chapter at a time. I didn’t want to self publish the novel;I just wanted people to read it and this seemed like the best option.

When I put the last chapter on here, I felt a little sad. I liked posting here. I liked the feedback. I liked the way the site worked. So I decided to continue using substack, but in a much different way, yet very similar to the way I used Medium. I figured I would just post some essays here and there, maybe some short fiction once in a while, see where that took me.

Well, it’s a year later and I’ve lost count of how many essays I’ve put on here. Sometimes they appear daily, sometimes weekly. I know my posting is sporadic at best, but I write when the mood moves me. And it often does.

I’ve posted stories about my childhood, my teen years, I’ve written about records I love and movies I’ve seen, and I’ve written some very personal pieces (if you are new here, you can take a journey through the archives). Since January, when my marriage fell apart, I’ve been writing more frequently and with a more personal bent. I want to talk about that.

Heartbreak is a very personal thing. But taking that personal issue and making it public here has been cathartic, to say the least. Allowing myself to get it all out of my system, to put words to my feelings, to let go of all the turmoil inside my heart has been so helpful to me as I navigate this new to me world. The hurt, the sadness, the anger, the attempts at growth and forgiveness are all for 400+ of you to read. Some people question why I put so much out there. Some people know.

I’ve received a lot of feedback on these posts, whether they came in the way of replies here or emails or people responding on twitter. The support I got from all of that has been so vital to my well being. From friends being empathetic to strangers sharing their own version of my story, from virtual hugs and well wishes to sage advice, I feel fortunate to have carved out this space at a time when I really needed it.

I just want to thank you all for reading, for commenting, for offering your own personal experiences to me. Having this outlet has meant to the world to me and the fact that you all read it and maybe get something out of it is amazing to me.

I plan to keep writing (at my sporadic pace) until I have nothing left to say. For now, I still have a lot going on and I lot I need to write about. I’ll still write about music and tv shows and movies and sports, but those personal essays in between are where the heart and soul of this newsletter exist, and I’ll keep doing that as long as you keep reading and as long as I need to get it all out. I love writing in and of itself, but I also love writing for you.

I appreciate every one of you. Thank you for taking the time to read my words. Here’s to a year of this and hopefully a few more.