Introducing “Ten-Minute Voice Memo”
A collection of absurdities, sagas and hard lessons in rediscovering myself on the cusp of midlife.
I love a good voice memo. Maybe it’s my anxiety about picking up the phone, a fear rooted in calling (boy)friends’ houses and getting their dad or the family answering machine. Maybe it’s because messaging audio files seems to be the only way to verbally communicate with people so used to text they can’t read full sentences. Maybe it’s my neurospicy brain that feeds on being able to listen to my bid for connection over, and over, and over again in my earbuds for days on end.
Or maybe it’s Taylor Swift’s fault, hooking me ten years ago with little snippets into her mysterious mind and songwriting process on the deluxe version of 1989.
But to use buisnes jargon, which I will try to avoid, voice memos are not scalable as a form of human engagement. I also tend to be a bit, shall we say, verbose on my personal podcasts. Few people really want to listen to my Northern Cities Vowel Shift for more than a few minutes.
What does a considerate, chronic oversharer with a penchant for transforming the little details of the world into snippets of mildly humorous wisdom do, then?
Start a Substack.
I’d love to have you along for the ride as I look for meaning in life as a Brat-green apple seeking space on the beige monochrome minimalistic kitchen counter of suburban subculture. Here’s some FAQs to help you decide whether to subscribe.
1. Why can’t you just keep your thoughts to yourself?
I’ve been asked that question for at least 35 years, and I still don’t have a good answer. I have a lot of thoughts on why we share for future discussion, but on a basic level, I believe humans are communal creatures whose survival is based on the sharing of knowledge and wisdom across generations. Yet information is so often gatekept and paywalled or sponsored by some product or pyramid scheme.
Don’t get me wrong; I pay my mortgage with the proceeds of monitized mind-work. But here I wish to share what I know so that others can have their experiences validated, challenged, or reconsidered in light of a different perspective. I think I can make you laugh while you learn sometimes.
2. What kind of community are you building?
A land of misfit toys.
Seriously, I didn’t really think about the interactions among readers until Substack suggested I try and explain my vision for “community.” But I suppose I intend to bring people together who are curious, compassionate and maybe looking for home for the parts of themselves that don’t project at perfect angles on social media or at a cocktail party or the PTA meeting.
We’re not afraid to call out each other’s baloney (or choose the more colorful term.) But we do with a hug and a drink of choice on the other side, knowning we only mess with people we like.
3. What am I signing up for?
A newsletter, not a voice memo, to be clear.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, so I’m trying to stick to every 10 days or so as to not pepper you with superfluous content. In the email will be an essay of some sort, observations mixed with some light journalism (research, conversations with everyday experts, etc.) In addition, I hope to add a few paragraph-length musings, and links to the reading, listening and experiences that shaped my thoughts for the week.
You should get through it in far less time than the aforementioned ten-minute audio.
Unlike some Substacks, I’m not looking to make a business out of it. So it won’t cost you anything.
4. How much is this going to be about the trips?
Less than you might think, and maybe less than you may want if you came to this via my connections with them. My kids are a huge part of my life, but I am also rebuilding (or, in some cases, building for the first time) an identity separate from my assigned or assumed roles.
I also recognize that unlike my purposely private social media posts, there are real implications to sharing too much details on them. I already have too many digital skeletons in the closet I designed for them.
My kids bring me great insights and, where relevant, I will share them. But I see the essays more as a synthesis of the important moments in my inner and external world. There’s a lot to explore adjacent to or outside the mommy-sphere, and I hope to explore that
5. How do I sign up?
Below!
“The most exciting, challenging, and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love the you that you love, well, that's just fabulous." --Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City