We're A Year Old Now!
Discover more from Ijeoma Oluo: Behind the Book
We're A Year Old Now!
Beyond the Book: Happy Anniversary to Us!!
Wow y’all, can you believe it? We have been substack dating for AN ENTIRE YEAR. Congrats on being like my…..3rd longest lasting relationship ever!
What a year it has been.
I started this newsletter because I wanted a way to write and connect regularly with readers, without having to go through the fancy rigamarole of…you know…editing or spell check.
Seriously though. Many of you know that I’ve been working on my next book for FIVE BILLION MONTHS and when I’m working on a book I don’t usually have the bandwidth to add formal freelance writing - especially since I also pay the bills with regular speaking work. I missed y’all. And I missed being able to go off at length on things that are on my mind. So, I looked for a platform that was more writer focused and landed on this one and I haven’t looked back.
This newsletter has given me so much, honestly. It has helped me connect with people at a time when I feel like we’re all more disconnected than ever. It has enabled me to engage with my craft in new ways. It has been a helpful diary when what I really needed was therapy (laugh/cry emoji), and helped me realize that I actually have to make that appointment for therapy to happen. Y’all have been here through serious family illness, grief and joy, my wedding, and so much more.
It has been so great to hear from so many of you, not only in the comments here, but in email and in person. I love finding out the different ways in which this newsletter is connecting with people. It sustains my love for writing on days when I need to remember that this really is more than just a job, that I was once a little girl who used to dream of the stories I’d write one day.
Also, it’s been really great to know that I have a way of supporting myself and my family purely from this writing, should I need to. There is a freedom to that in a world that constantly tries to control art. To know that my words - as they come out of my weird brain - are enough, should the books and speaking go away or should that work require me in any way to compromise myself in ways that I’m not comfortable with. It’s the artistic equivalent of “fuck you” money. It’s a privilege that few artists have, and I’m so grateful for you all in making that a possibility for me.
I’m excited for our second year together, and for the different ways in which I hope we’ll be able to connect.
Since we’re feeling sentimental, I’ve decided to randomly grab a few favorite posts over the past year in case you want to take a stroll down memory lane with me. Which posts have been your favorite? What have you connected the most with in my newsletter and what are you hoping I might write about in year two?
Some highlights over the past year:
Your kid is going to find your vibrator.
Black History is Your History
We Have The Right To Not Be Annoyed
Some Things My Mom Taught Me
Crying on the Basketball Court
Love at Forty
We've Got To Stop Lying To Kids About Their Future
Okay Fine. I'll Get A Therapist
I Suck At Friendship
There are different types of safety.
Thank you for reading. If you liked this newsletter and want to support my work, please consider subscribing here:
We're A Year Old Now!
Congratulations! I love this, and you were my first paid Substack subscription. It's been so great to read your thoughts, behind-the-scenes ruminations and wedding celebrations for the last year, and I so appreciate you sharing this with us.
Congrats on a year; an accomplishment for sure. It's hard showing up week after week and I've enjoyed reading your posts. Here's to many more years!