Growing up in the 1980s, I absorbed the implicit narrative that women either stayed home or had paying jobs in an office somewhere. There was never a way to combine the two without huge deficits on one end or the other.

I wonder more and more if the internal conflict many women feel stems from that tug of war between home and work.

I think it’s difficult to comprehend an alternative to the binary ways women have worked, either as unpaid domestic homemakers, or by clocking in for an employer who pays them a specific wage. What if there was a third model, one that hasn’t been explored much – or at least one that hasn’t been understood clearly?

This introduced me to the concept that establishing a professional life around my creative work might be sustainable in some way, without compromising my family’s needs and my desire to raise our children with stability and emotional security.

It’s impossible for me to choose between being a caregiver to my children and the professional creative work I do for a living, which is why I would like to find a way to do both.

As a freelance writer, editor, and speaker, my creative work is structured around my domestic life as a mom to five kids—and, most importantly, around the caregiving schedule our daughter Sarah needs for her ongoing, complex care.

My work has to fit around caregiving.

I do this all while managing a household. None of this work yields pay. My writing and the freelance editing and consulting work I offer is my way of trying to build an income that can function within the framework of my caregiving responsibilities.

Your support helps sustain my independent writing and the intentional, unhurried work of this publication.

• Weekly Substack essays.

• Ongoing memoir development, including proposal, query, and research.

• Revising essays and poems for publication.

• Freelance editing and consulting work.

• Speaking and podcast interviews.

• Researching and organizing grants, scholarships, residencies, and contests.

• Networking with creative professionals.

• Occasional workshops and collaborative projects.

• A free monthly women’s writing support group.

• A monthly in-person book club.

• Live Zoom gatherings.

My work is largely relational and built around my domestic life, particularly caring for Sarah’s ongoing and complicated needs.

This is primarily a relational place that invites reader reflection and careful attention. We are not interested in performance or perfection here. Showing up as you are in any given moment is always welcomed, embraced, and honored.

Most paid subscriptions on Substack are in exchange for something tangible – a service or product. You might pay for content or access to special downloads or podcasts. Because the work I do is largely relational, it’s not something that can be easily defined or seen.

Your patronage tells me that you value both the paid and unpaid work that mothers perform every day, often through the invisible labor of mental tasks and emotional scaffolding.

It tells me that you don’t expect to be handed something from me all the time. You’re not looking to consume more; you’re offering a way for a mom to show up for this community as a healthy and balanced woman who has clear purpose and is capable of holding space for the heavy, complex, and often painful struggles of the people who are drawn to me.

You’re telling me that you know not all women can clock into a paid job, and not all of us are meant to. You’re conveying that a creative life is still a valuable one, one worth compensating the artist for.

Your paid support helps keep this space and my writing intentional and unhurried instead of transactional and frenetic.

You don’t have to feel obligated to “get your money’s worth.” Your support helps make this work possible, and I’m grateful for your participation in this community.

Sustain a Creative Life

An invitation to support independent writing and the intentional, unhurried work of a creative life.

Two ways to participate

• Make a one-time contribution toward the annual crowdfunding goal.

• Offer ongoing monthly support through Ko-fi.

Thank you for believing in the heart of my work!