Be Here Now

Or Wish You'd Been Sooner

Prior to this year, I penned two other blogs in my life. One was during the days of MySpace (yes, we had blogs). The other, more personal one is still available on a platform which I pay a monthly fee to host. I canceled it this month.

I stumbled onto Substack as a reader a few years ago and followed a few of my favorite authors and artists here, mostly to read their email newsletters. I rarely visited the site and did not have the app. I wish I had known what awaited me sooner.

When it came time to launch Black Sheep Mom, I wanted to find a place that could contain the weight and the complexity of our story. I also wanted to find a community that could respectfully handle the content. Importantly, we needed the ability to make parts of our family’s story private— details that I do not want out in the public are shared only with our known Substack supporters.

Social media is not kind nor mature enough for my current content. If TikTok is kindergarten and Meta is the middle school of the interwebs, Substack is graduation to a full-time-job, kids, and a home. It is an online platform for actual writers and readers, not just ‘content creators.’ It is the grown up internet; and it is the Apple stock of the early 90s—

Get in now or wish you had sooner.

Substack offers readers the opportunity to curate their ‘feed’ toward insightful, mindful, kind, artistic, real-life shares that connect and uplift. In addition to writers and thought leaders, Substack hosts painters, watercolor illustrators, chefs, fashion bloggers, podcasters, and a few (grown) celebrities to follow. Substack offerings contains classes and workshops and links to fabulous things happening in the real world like books and recipes. Each writer has their own little blog site within Substack, and you can hop around or just go straight to your favorite prison mom’s page every time.

I have not found another like me— yet.

There are interesting people from all over the world in here, and the best part: you do not have to know their political affiliation unless you want to. (My personal rule on Substack is to only follow those who speak on politics with openness— no doom scrolling, no loud-mouth dogmatic opinions, no click-bait, and very little video, thank God). Just good people willing to be vulnerable and curious and human.

In time, I may disappear from all other platforms— it is that good. I just need you to join me there first so we do not lose our virtual connection!

While Substack offers a paid subscribership for authors like me (yikes, that is the first time I have called myself an author), you can download the app and read for free as well. It’s a spam-free, ad-free reading experience with audio and community features available, should you want them. Download the app for the full experience:

To subscribe for free, simply click the button below and enter your email. You'll receive all of my free content both in email and on the app. If it says you are subscribed, thank you for being one of the cool kids already.

To upgrade your access to my paid content (and support my son), you can simply visit your Substack account and choose upgrade. You can also help me by spreading the word and getting comps for each friend you refer who joins us. Refer a friend below and get freebies!

In the app you'll get access to my interactive posts, upcoming videos, collaborations, a private chat, and my edited essays. *Trust me— the grammar, the color photos, and the links in the blog are so much sweeter than through email.

Lastly, to my current paid subscribers— my son and his cellmate send a Thank YOU for the coffee and food this month. For the record, they are both deeply committed to coming home better men. Each is on a journey of self-inquiry and, based on their book choices, they are on a righteous path. Thank you for fueling their healing, and for believing in them.

And, in case you don’t want to mess with all of that— you can always just buy a coffee.

Thank you again for your support this year. See you on Substack! 🖤 Bridget