More and more subscribers to The Cure for Sleep are now writing for the project as well as reading the prompts. Thank you!
Please will you use this thread to say a quick hello? Share a link to one of your stories from the archive and/or say a few lines about why you’ve joined the project, what it brings to you…
And remember that you can explore everyone’s stories (or find your own!) over on The Cure For Sleep website.
What a thing of beauty we’ve been building together!
Hello everyone. I am very late to this party but I hope to do some of Tanya's prompts before the year ends and she closes her Substack.
I am Becky, an artist and writer from Derbyshire. I finished The Cure for Sleep a few days ago and found it filled me with a desire to write so here I am. I really enjoy writing prompts but I am guilty of being an inconsistent writer, often going weeks without writing anything other than what I have to write for my 9-5. I did a writing course last year and I really thought I had a memoir in me but I have come to realise it is filled with a lot of anger, focusing more on those that caused me pain, than those that healed me or even myself. A feeling that in writing in I will get my vengeance. That isn't the story I want to write. I am hoping doing some of Tanya's prompts will help me on my way to finding my true story.
You know already, Becky, how much I appreciated you letting me know about your reading experience of The Cure for Sleep. Thank you too for saying hello here now. Although, yes, it will be much quieter on my Substack from now til end of year, I’m still going to read and curate suitable pieces for some months yet, so I do hope some will tempt you to try!
Hello again, I thought that I'd just introduced myself but it's not showing up here so in case I didn't press the right button, I'm Marika and am just getting to the point of making the time to write and get my words beyond the doodle phase, which I have always wanted to do. I'm also in a state of delighted disbelief - can it be true - it's just that as I was grappling with my first post for The Cure for Sleep and hoping to get the words let alone the count right, Tanya endorsed my Substack endeavour by subscribing; magic synchronicity. Thank you! it has given me so much encouragement.
Your words have all come through safe and sound! And based on your first piece you are so very far beyond the doodle phase. Your portrait of Lily in the gestures section is as complete and full of interest as any same-length passage in Laurie Lee (the writer I find does the best and most fond portraits of the people he loves). xxx
Thank you Tanya for your curation and generous giving of comments and encouragement! I'm so glad I managed to press the post button and am really looking forward to responding to other prompts in this wonderful project. It's actually quite a big moment for me and I love that I feel childishly excited.
After a long run of the best health I’ve ever enjoyed (and worked hard for), I’m now once again in the time of emergencies and illness: an ambulance trip a few weeks ago and an urgent scan next week. I’m having to give up almost everything related to writing - no events, no visiting lecturer work, no online sessions - and yet I want to keep this creative community going even though its the work that’s unpaid. I will do it from a hospital bed if needs be! Each time someone like you gets through the fear of pressing send and shares a beautiful piece of work I am in the company I want to keep. xx
I'm Marika and I live in West Cork Ireland. I am a creative art therapist working with a diverse client group, and as I lessen my work load there is an intention to write. I am getting to retirement, so it's pretty late in life, but have always scribbled my thoughts down and would consider myself an erratic doodler who would love to pull the threads together for a memoir. I joined Substack last year with the intention of writing in response to Tanys's wonderful prompts having heard her interviewed by Sharon Blackie for the Hagitude podcast and then joined the programme which was great.
I literally had no idea how nerve wracking it is to press 'post' - and how long I would procrastinate - but I've managed a couple of times and this week posted my first one in the Gesture section of The Cure for Sleep . I'm now looking forward to writing more being part of this lovely and supportive community.
Marika! I’ve just had the pleasure of reading and curating your first piece for the project, and so it’s a joy to now find this lovely introduction/hello from you to all of us here. Your piece on your elegant elder Lily is exceptional.
I love that you’ve spoken here to that very real fear most of us have of pressing ‘post’ or ‘send’ when it comes to our creative work, or our wish to join a community. I hope that my feedback and any comments you get from other project members means that you will soon be free of that hesitation and post often. I will so enjoy seeing what you do with the other prompts.
I have introduced myself on here before but it was back in April so its been a while and I wanted to share my gratitude for this wonderful platform.
Sharing my words on here and receiving Tanya's incredibly valuable responses has given me the confidence to turn my many notes into the makings of a first draft of my memoir.
I was fortunate enough to win a mentoring opportunity with Tanya , which was truly priceless for me. Tanya's encouragement has helped me to accept myself as a writer and this continues to propel me in working on 'the first draft'.
Hello Tanya, I haven’t responded to any of your prompts yet as I still haven’t resonated with any. I’m slowly working my way through the resource list you sent me. I’m letting ideas incubate to see if they develop into anything. I’m continuing to work on a sort of memoir in response to a gift received, but still question if it’s what I want to do, but my sense of duty drives me onward. It’s brought forth lots of new questions for me to think about and try to answer, so maybe not a bad thing.
I’m still thinking that I need to tell the story of the women in my family but I’m struggling with how I might do this when at best it would be a very subjective telling because I didn’t even know one of my grandmothers and the life of my mother and her mother are shrouded in secrets and lies.I continue to read other’s memoirs to observe how they approached the topic.
I am well, yes. Thank you. I'm back in Sussex now after my week away teaching in Yorkshire (the former home of poet Ted Hughes). It's my last public event for a long time and so, like you, I'm going to be spending winter reading others' memoirs once again, learning instead of teaching.
I'm going to keep the three seasons of prompts here free and for the long term, so that anyone finding them can write for them and get feedback (or write for them more than once if they want to revisit a topic). I hope at some point, as you work more on your story, that you might want to test some of your work-in-progress out via one or more of the themes, to see how readers here respond to it.
Just a quick note to say I'm teaching an intensive residential in Yorkshire this week and I'm without my laptop. But I wanted you to know your piece has been received by me and I will read it and respond properly when I'm home after the 4 December. Tanya x
Hello Tanya, This sun-drenched Monday morning brought your post to my attention, where it sits against a backdrop of the lightly frosted landscape that stretches out before my eyes through the window in my third floor Haven. I'm excited to explore your work, especially since you've linked writing to sleep (or not sleeping). I've just finished a memoir (to be published in four months) and I still cannot sleep. Writing, even though I'm a retired writing professor and former journalist, seems to own my sleep/waking state. When I sleep, I dream in stories. When I'm not sleeping, I dream up stories. Is there no cure? Being here, I feel the safety of others who live on the threshold of story and sleep. Here's one of my recent posts. So glad to find you. Jane https://storycarrier.substack.com/p/why-i-call-myself-a-story-carrier
Hello Jane! Thank you for making contact - I will enjoy reading your linked post, and finding out more about your practice. And I remember very well that ennervating pre-publication period! It's unlike anything I've ever experienced, including waiting for my two children to be born.
Hi Tanya! Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I too look forward to writing some pieces starting with the latest theme. The book resonated on so many levels, it was good to be reminded that my demons are not unique and that we can choose to keep going so great company for the road!
...I've just been looking at your work. Very strong - and of course in an area I admire very much, knowing David Nash as I do, and loving the work of him, Fulton, Julie Brook. I'll be interested to see how your art work informs your prose responses to the themes, or if you write from a different place to your art making...
Thank you Tanya. It is interesting that you say that because the most joy I have ever found in writing was connected with this work and with connecting with my place. It has been an immensely rich and emotional journey discovering how I might weave my own story into the story of this place. After a break I am only now ready to pick up the threads of the work again to continue the onward journey. One step at a time!
All the best art and stories come from that - one step at a time (thinking here of Richard Long's A Line Made by Walking, Cash's I Walk The Line, Basho's Travels of a Weather-Exposed Skeleton and more!)
My name is Brian and I live in Sligo, Ireland. I am a visual artist with a multidisciplinary, research led practice. My work is concerned with connection to place. It all started as an inquiry into my feelings of disconnection from where I live now. I realised I have always felt that way and wondered why. I created a body of work called Fieldworks (2023) from these starting points which was part of my MFA submission at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. You can see some of the work here https://ncad.works/graduates/brian-cooney
It was actually during my MFA that I had a realisation of how important writing is to me. I also had the amazing experience of writing and being surprised and excited by what came out on the page, the possibility of writing as a way of speaking, the similarity between written and spoken words that might be possible. I didn't know what I was putting down on the page and I found this really amazing, emotional and freeing. It was such a joyful experience, like some inner part of me was making itself heard at last. Previous to that experience I had always composed texts in a controlled manner, setting out a structure and then populating it with words. I realise now I always struggled with form because it is so formulaic and stiff. Since then I haven't quite managed to recapture that sense of joy again but I know I will.
The Cure for Sleep made me realise I need to keep going. It confirmed that it is possible to make art the everyday and the everyday art.
Hello Brian - what a wonderful introduction and thank you so much for joining us here. I really look forward to you contributing some pieces when you have time and interest. All the themes stay open for contributions - only this month's one is slightly different in that I'm not curating the pieces over on the cure for sleep website, from wanting to give still more feedback than I usually do given it's a Why Write prompt.
Moved that you read the book and that it was helpful to you in your own decision to keep going. That's exactly what I hoped it might be - company for the road!
I'm Shazz, I live with Ivy, my cat on Anglesey, North Wales, UK. I'm a former Occupational Therapist.
For decades my former school history teacher has tried to encourage me to write my memoir. I never believed I could write, partly due to dyslexia and partly due to believing other people who thought I'd amount to very little in life. After several challenging life changes enforced on me, I decided to make my own changes and I've been applying myself to learning the craft and profession of writing via online courses (Open University) and books (Cathy Rentzenbrink among others). I'm using every single negative comment that I remember being made about me as a positive reinforcer to persevere and persist.
I live on Vancouver Island, BC, originally from the New England area of the US. I found Tanya through Sharon Blackie's Hagitude course and have been very inspired! I am a dream worker and creative guide, facilitating dream groups and process painting workshops and had a hands on healing practice for many years prior.
I have always loved writing and had a dream of writing a book when I was younger. I love poetry and the idea of writing my life story to leave for future generations. I am here hoping to ignite my love for writing again and looking forward with a lot of curiosity to see what happens.
I am Maurni and I wish you all a cheery hello! I am a linguist, a wanderer, and a wonderer. Newly on the look out for Awe. I have found it here, in spades.
I have had story in me for eons and finally, I feel as if an itch has been scratched by being led to this community. Thank you for such an opportunity, Tanya!
I hear my own voice in so many voices on here: many of us doubting and questioning that burning inside that seeks an escape; many already found the way forward and accomplished their first writings; many seeking connections with like minds.
At 60, I have had a wonderful life thus far, but I know that what is ahead is going to eclipse that. And coming to this place of like-minded community, commonality, feels like my next beginning. I have just finished The Cure for Sleep, Tanya, and have been so engaged in the journey of it. Thank you. I also note many personal parallels. “Yes, the weight of these women. This role I’d been given as a small girl: to be the bearer of their stories …” This hooked me. I am the keeper of our family ancestry history and privately researching the incidence of anxiety through the maternal line, back generations. I feel the weight of that. Stoic women who held it all together .. for what? This is part of my story.
I found myself reluctantly on my own just over two years ago and have had an intense journey since then. I now know, from my work in that dark cave, that I could never have come to this space, here, writing, while in that relationship. With a clarity like never before, I know I am in the right place to complete my life dream, alone but not lonely. Myself as my guide and witness, I will write my story. This space with you all gives me impetus, feeds my confidence. I hope to return it. Blessings to all.
Wonderful introduction, Maurni - 'a linguist, a wanderer, a wonderer.' The first two things I am not, but which I admire very much in others. I'm so very glad to have you here as a story writer as well as a reader. xx
It will tell you a lot about my current homelessness, now into its 14th year, and the plights I have to survive what is becoming ever more a colder & heartless society.
I'm trying to find an agent for my memoir, Fighting The Dreamkillers, with the assistance of Hannah Knowles over at Faber & Faber,
And find my joy in the City I love.
I hopefully will contribute something for you soon.
It was lovely to meet you too - although I wish I'd met you earlier in the evening so we could have talked more right there and then! But I will read your link with interest and feel glad if this project can be a part of you sharing your work and reaching readers while you continue to move your memoir out into the wider world. If your words and story have got Hannah Knowles on side, then I'm sure it won't be long til you have an agent!
I really look forward to finding out more about what you do and why. Thank you for joining us here.
I'm Sharon and I live in Denbigh, North Wales because I found a house there that I could dream in. I kept dreaming and made words and those words made 'Linen and Rooks' a novel which I designed myself and a local printer made it just how I wanted it to be...in blue marbling, blue end papers and a blue ribbon.
I couldn't do structure so it's a very abstract, non linear narrative but I refuse to apologise for how unclear and ambiguous it is. I think others think it is just badly constructed but maybe that's not true!!!!!
I have two grown up children, one a chef and one a primary teacher/BA cabin crew and they seem much wiser and level headed than I ever was. They like this new house and the wildness of the garden.
I'm trying to run creative writing courses and write a memoir of childhood days and nightmares in Leicester...early days on both.
Long to connect with the writing community but it seems tougher than I anticipated
Lovely to read this intro from you Sharon. I've been bothered for a while by how changes to Twitter in particular have made it harder for aspiring and emerging writers to build a community and a readership - when I began finally in 2016, it was through Twitter that I got both my first small pieces read and then commissioned, as well as how I found residency opportunities and made writing friends. I do feel Substack is a good new place for this to happen, and that this project is one of those types of meeting places. Look forward to reading more of your work and hope that you find some likeminds here. Txxx
Hello, Claire in London here. It was around a year ago that I heard Tanya speak on Sharon Blackie’s podcast and was particularly taken by the archetype of the medial woman. From there I bought Tanya’s book and was quite afraid of how I felt when I read it, slowly eking it out while wanting to devour it at the same time. I messaged her on Instagram and was surprised that she replied and very warmly invited me to this community. Why I haven’t until this point is a bit of a mystery but within that time I’ve been further exploring my complicated ancestry (whose isn’t?), which is all part of the story I wish to tell. My handle on Instagram is @saintorrow if anyone wishes to read/see some of my everyday musings. Excited to contribute here as I limber up to that most challenging of hurdles – sharing the work.
Ooo can’t wait to read through this thread and meet you all. Thanks for the invite Tanya.
I’m Jen and I publish The Corpus Callosum Chronicles where I explore how myth, story and poetry can rebuild the bridge between imagination and logic, reuniting the brain hemispheres to create a holistic human culture.
I have a memoir coming out, that is more a ceremony really, called Piko: A Return to the Dreaming, this August 15th. It’s the account of a ceremony I held for 21 days in a very sacred place on Hawai’i Island where I live.
I’m currently publishing a series on how the principles of an ancient Hawaiian magical system called Heka can be applied to writing poems to elevate them to actual spells that can shift consciousness at will. Here’s a link to Part IV:
Thanks so much, Tanya, for creating this wonderful community! I wrote two stories-one is here-https://thecureforsleep.com/voices/#erikacleveland and today just added one more on the topic of Terrible Stories. I am first an artist, a doll-maker. But I love to write and have tried to write many short stories and three novels (!!!) but none of them really ever gelled. Except for an erotic short story that was published in some sort of anthology years ago.
Your challenge to condense a story into 300 words is really helping me to write. It reminds me of the apocryphal story by Mark Twain, " I didn't have time to write a short letter so I wrote a long one." Having to choose words more carefully concentrates the mind. Also, I make my dolls for healing and so far, this writing here has been healing as well. I am trying to be brave and write about things that scare me and thus, by getting them out into the world, somehow release them.
And it is also wonderful to be able to witness and be amazed by the honesty and courage in other writers here. Thank you again!
Oh, and I live in Washington, DC with my husband, my two adult kids, one who is sort of on her own, working and has an apartment, the other still finding his way. And a Dogo Argentino that my husband got after our Old English bulldog died suddenly during the pandemic. I am getting braver around this large and sometimes scary dog ( who has mellowed a lot with a lot of dog training.)
Hi, I'm Sarah. I live in North Devon. I spent my working life in Child Psychiatry, and retired in 2020. I was lucky enough to be able to retire early, and I was worried I wouldn't get a retirement, so I jumped at the chance. I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2008. I'm still "living with" rather than "dying of" but I'm starting to run out of treatment options.
My first poetry chapbook - The Crow Gods - was published in May this year by Sidhe Press. This time last year I was talking to the editor, Annick Yerem, about "my legacy". And, yes, I'm so glad I was self-aware enough to put that in quotes, because she has quoted it back at me.
I can't remember how I met Tanya and her work. I was an early contributor to the Substack project, and I remember waiting for the book to come out. I bought it in hardback - something I rarely do, and I've bought it again in paperback to give to people who I think need it.
I'm not in this space as often as I should be. It's such an open, honest community, and when I am here, I really appreciate it. Tanya is such a support and a celebrator of writers of all levels of experience. She is a story midwife.
I am Anoushka, living in London. I have followed a winding path that has finally led me back to writing. In previous lives, I studied Biomedical Science and then was a patent litigator (lawyer). Since having children, I have (gladly) left all that behind. My eldest son is autistic and I am his full time carer and home educator. It has taken a long time to arrive at a point where I feel able to bump myself up the priority list a little. I start a masters in Creative Writing in the autumn which can’t come soon enough. I particularly love creative nonfiction and life writing - both to read and to write. I keep a blog (although it is on hiatus - www.spitting-yarn.com) and can be found @spittingyarn on Twitter and Instagram. Looking forward to reading more of everyone’s work.
Hi, I'm Davina and live in Cambridge, UK with my husband and teenage daughter.
I read and loved The Cure for Sleep which brought me to this Substack community. Lots of themes in the book chimed with me, reminding me of my younger life growing up on a council estate in the north of England, loving books and desperately wanting to be a writer but feeling like an outsider much of the time.
I've written professionally for work (website posts etc) but less often for myself - although I recently did a life-writing course, which got me back into writing personal memoir. Like Tanya and others here, I now feel the need to start writing in earnest - and have decided this year will be all about making up for lost time and projects unfinished! I've recently submitted a piece to this writing project - which I'm so very grateful for, since it seems to be unlocking memories that I've always struggled to write about in the past. Looking forward to reading and sharing more on here.
Hello, I'm Catherine - and I'm new to substack having recently read The Cure for sleep.
My eldest was born in quite a dramatic fashion when I suffered pre-eclampsia at eight months pregnant and Tanya it was so refreshing to read an account of traumatic birth as a mother. It's a topic I've rarely read about. My daughter and I were very fortunate and recovered very swiftly, although I took longer due to surgery.
I write to present church services every week so feel I can call myself a writer but that is very much for my 'job' . I feel very called to write and create in other ways, but working six days a week means that is difficult. Very difficult..so I'm a thwarted creative. Love to paint and craft.
Living within a walking distance of the sea means I can get a good lung full of sea air regularly but my heart is in the mountains and rivers of other parts of Wales really.
I'm aware I will be judged for being a minister, ... However I'm used to that as for some I'm seen as too liberal / hippy / inclusive.....I'm not here to preach, but to learn and explore, although im aware my situation will inform my writing but then isn't that true for us all?
Hi all, I discovered Tanya and a Cure for Sleep via a friend's recommendation and also the Hagitude programme with Sharon Blackie. Always a reader I never thought about writing until I hit my 50s, and I still stop and start with the idea that I might be one.
I live in Stroud, Gloucestershire, surrounded by beautiful countryside, so many creative people, and ghosts from my past that tell me to just hush my mouth, no good will come of me writing. Nevertheless, sometimes it is pulled from me like an impacted molar by a well placed prompt (Tanya is particularly good at this).
I am trying to make space for ideas to come to me after a lifetime of daughtering, wifeing and mothering. I'd love to uncover my 'Mile of Writing' soon.
Good evening. I'm Carolyn....finding myself inspired by this season's question and just trying to work out how to use Substack. Thank you Tanya for all your encouragement. Originally from Yorkshire I'm a Maga woman living in Northern NSW, Australia - a grandmother and lots of other things besides. Thank you for having me here and I look forward to making my first contribution with trepidation and excitement. Together we rise!
Hi, I'm Zoe and I live in Northern Ireland, although not from here originally. I think of myself as a nomad, having hopped from place to place since my island childhood days. Always happiest when I can hear the sea at night.
I write in my job, but would love to write more freely, for myself, and discover where it may lead.
I can't remember where, or when, I came across Tanya's work, but it immediately resonated. This community is a wonderful idea.
I've written in scraps and scribbles between three children. I'd like to start again with some structure and direction. I think this is what Tanya is offering here. A judgement-free space. Nice to meet you all and thank you Tanya xx
Hello, I'm Sue. I live in in a small town that doesn't quite know if it's in Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire, but it's not far from Hitchin which is about 30 miles north of London.
I grew up in the North London suburbs, went away, came back and settled in Potters Bar in South Hertfordshire where we raised our three children. I've always had strong links with East Sussex and have spent as much time there as I could - it's only for the last year that I've been living where I am now.
I was a teacher for more than 40 years. I began in Islington, inner London and gradually shifted from teaching English and French to students with challenging inner-city lives to teaching children with severe learning difficulties back out in the suburbs. Later I became a nursery teacher, later still an Early Years advisor, suffering acute Impostor Syndrome throughout those 10 years and not believing that had any right at all to tell others how to be good teachers. For the final 4 years of my teaching life, I returned to the classroom and taught Early Years, then English in a wonderful school for students with Physical and Neurological Impairment (PNI). That was an amazing 4 years, full cycle, back where I started!
But by then my whole life had changed. A very long and happy marriage ended with my husband disappearing with another woman, then my father died and my mother gradually became more dependent and infirm. Amidst all this, and it all happened suddenly and over a short space of time, I met the man who is now my partner. It's taken a good while to get to grips with it all.
And now I have 6 grandchildren , all of them living fairly close by. I spend a lot of time looking after them so my daughters - both also teachers - can work and I love every moment. And at last, plenty of time to do all the other things I love too.
I've always wanted to be a writer. Secretly, I've always thought of myself as one although there have been many, many doubts and fears. The number of notebooks that I've worked my way through proves that I DO write, but it's never been an easy thing to share my words and there have also been long, frustrating periods when nothing at all seemed to want to be written.
I've arrived here via Hagitude where Tanya so brilliantly and lovingly curates the 'Growing our Creative Confidence' thread. Being part of that and reading 'The Cure for Sleep' has been a huge catalyst for change; I've become able to look at myself and my writing differently, to understand why I need to write and to be less fearful. It feels good. Thank you, Tanya.
I haven't contributed much here yet just one piece in 'Birthday Letters', but I have followed all Tanya's prompts on the Hagitude thread. I plan to follow more here and have also taken the plunge and set up my own Substack writing space. I'll use this same introduction there and after that, I'll dive in and see where it takes me!
A big thank you to Amanda Cooke for guiding me here. I write the My Weird and Wonderful Life Substack about my journey into spirituality, channeling, NDE, and the adventures hypnosis has taken me on.
Browsing through these comments, I see so many artists and people creating spaces to life others. That fills my heart.
By the way, I am from the heart of Canada, living smack dab in the middle of the prairies of Saskatchewan. Granted, I am a city girl but I can get from one end to the other of ours in 20 minutes... now the next major city is 40 minutes away so I live where there are many wide open spaces...
Hope you are keeping well with all that is going on for you and thank you for creating this wonderful place. I have only dipped in a few times as I am still on the edges of writing memoir. But your supportive community has certainly helped creek open the door a little more. I would love to write more about my Dad, but the feelings are still too raw to do this in any depth (still) - your prompts are tiny windows when I have a moment of strength. Maybe one day they will meld together into something bigger. Here is one of my more uplifting contributions to your project:
Hi Tanya, I’m Nic Treadwell from Dudley in the Black Country. I’ve been writing off and on most of my life and now, in my fifties I’m trying to be more creative, and produce more work. For many years I produced a music and poetry podcast which featured others work with a bit of mine mixed in. Now I use substack https://open.substack.com/pub/nictreadwell?r=1eh0xb&utm_medium=ios and Spotify’s podcast app to produce and voice my work. I write stuff that’s inspired by my own life, I’m also interested in parody and use that as a tool to write in different voices, sometimes with I hope, hilarious results. I’m about to read your book and look forward to joining this community.
Hello! I'm writing a memoir here on substack, a daily postcard that makes the whole manageable. I write and post every morning and I keep them short. The project's called #OneMinuteMemoir and you can find it here - https://eleanoranstruther.substack.com Please come and say hello! It's hugely cathartic and also, as a novelist, a real blessing to have somewhere to publish shorter pieces day to day while I work on the long stuff. Being connected with readers means everything to me. It really helps.
I’m Emily Tamas and I live on beautiful Gumbaynggirr country on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, Australia. I am currently resisting a return to classroom teaching since having my two children and I spend my afternoons and evenings tutoring students in Secondary School English. Books have always been my way of understanding the world and of understanding how to be in the world. Stories, poetry, plays - they all have an incredible ability to sneak in the back door of our consciousness and lay the seeds for new ways of seeing and new ways of being. I find this remarkable. One of the primary reasons why I love books so much is this ability they have to open up space for imaginative possibilities. I have always wanted to write but I have always been crippled by the fear of failure and the fear of being seen and noticed. Reading (and re-reading) Tanya’s book is planting new seeds for me and prompting me to dare to put my writing in a public place. It feels utterly terrifying. It also feels utterly delightful to read the comforting, supportive and uplifting embrace that is offered to all the writer’s here from both Tanya and Tanya’s contributors. I am beginning to find some courage.
I’m Maria and I am originally from Lisbon, Portugal, but have lived in Yorkshire for many years. I work as an Academic Librarian, but I would spend my days reading, writing and travelling if I could. And learning languages, I would like to speak them all! I wish I could read all books in the language they were written, but I am fascinated by translation too – I am full of contradictions like that. Even before I found out about The Cure for Sleep, Tanya captivated me with her Concentrates of Place which she shares on Instagram and are just wonderful – we share a delight for tins, and what an amazing way to encapsulate the mood or sense of a place. I came here enticed by Tanya after a mentoring session, but also looking for an encouraging community of like-minded people who would support me in developing my creative confidence. I am trying to write memoir and short stories. Tanya’s prompts have given me structure and a focal point and I am so grateful to her for that; I have not contributed much yet, but here is the link to my first piece: https://thecureforsleep.com/november-issue-reading/#mariasimoes
I'm Corinne, l've lived in Queensland Australia for about 10 years now but home will always be Chichester in West Sussex.
Last month I got a very delicate fine line tattoo on the inside of my right wrist. It says ' La Boheme.'
Not because I'm a particularly big fan of Puccini, although I did once live with an opera singer in Italy, but because the essence of the word "bohemian" speaks to my heart. I love to make beautiful things. I see art everywhere. I'm really quite obsessed and hugely passionate about creativity as a means of expression and freedom. I love to paint, and sketch with charcoal, I've written poetry, short stories and non-fiction. But I've never sought to have my work published or sold, mostly because I was always afraid it might change my relationship to Art and the creative process. But something has changed recently. I feel I have something to say. Something I want to be heard. I'm not quite sure what that is yet. So perhaps that's why I've landed here.
I'm very much looking forward to listening and learning from this wonderful community.
I'm Rosalyn Huxley and I am writing an amusing (I hope) book called Age Appropriate plus a collection of short stories called Endgames (Beckett not related...) I live on the Jurassic Coast and started writing full time after a life working in the cultural and charity sector (as Ros Fry). During the pandemic I took an MA in Creative Writing at Exeter University, met some interesting students, gave up my job at Cancer Research UK and felt happier than I had for a long time. I teach creative writing on allotments even though I cannot garden.
I'm new to this Substack, drawn by fandom for The Cure for Sleep. I live on the Jurassic Coast and just spent a week writing on my favourite island, Lundy. After a career working in the arts and charity sector I took MA Creative Writing a Exeter, met some great fellow students and now working on a novel called Age Appropriate and a collection of short stories about life after work, called Endgames (nothing like Beckett!). I run workshops in creative writing in allotments even though I am a rubbish gardener...Ros Huxley
I'm Georgie, living and creating in Brighton. I'm a visual artist (I draw), creative mindfulness teacher and workshop facilitator.
I've just been singing the praises of The Cure For Sleep in my last newsletter actually, because it's been the spark I needed in what felt like a very dark hole. I read the book at the same time I watched a very dear friend pass away from metastatic cancer at only 46, having only been diagnosed 3 months ago. We are devastated to say the least.
Whilst we witnessed a devastating loss, my husband and I also said farewell to my (number 2) son, who left to go backpacking around Asia. I could feel the maternal apron strings pull, stretch and break as I saw his flight leave the UK via my flight tracker! But seeing his fantastic smiling face on the occasional Facetime call, has been wonderful. It's felt like a loss in one respect, but an emergence in another. This time a much more joyous one.
You see, both these events and your book Tanya, have been life-affirming. They've reminded me to LIVE. I've since resigned from the full time job I disliked to pursue a freelance life once more. As an artist and teacher. Whilst unsteady and insecure, I'm living my values again.
I don't consider myself a writer. I use writing as a means of creative practice. But your book, this community and the stories I've read are immensely inspiring. They make me realise living the artist life is the only way to be, for me.
As a result, I'm also thinking about how I can take my art onto the Sussex Downs and practice it as a fully embodied experience of creation, outside the confines of my studio. To live large and free! (Anyone know much about converting camper vans into mobile studios?!)
I'm not sure where all of those words and confessions came from but I'll post them anyway. It's funny what pops up when someone who has inspired you at a profound time, simply asks you to say a quick hello ;)
Hi everyone and thanks for the invitation to say hi Tanya! I really appreciate the opportunity to connect and share in this way. I’m a 54 year old mother of a teenage daughter based in Meanjin (Brisbane) Australia. It still feels a bit cringy to call myself a writer but less and less so. I realise looking back I’ve always written, in my head and heart, but only now outloud in a way that feels good for me. It’s still an act of courage but I feel so compelled to do it in a way that I’ve never felt before. A lot of my work is anchored in memoir, my story of healing and emancipation and reconnection, but our stories are so universal at their heart, that the connection sharing brings has been so life giving. I also write poetry, however it comes and I love poems as a vessel for everything that we cannot say yet feel and know.
I love Substack. most of my subscribers are beautiful friends and family, and this platform and your Substack Tanya is really satisfying my deep longing for connection and wider community that feels in alignment with me.
It feels great to be here and I really look forward to reading everyone’s words. I made my first contribution to the voices promt yesterday. I haven’t tried notes yet but it does feel so much more accessible and meaningful, especially for us smaller tick folks.
It is lovely to 'meet you Amanda! I am also based in Brisbane and am fairly new to this beautiful space that Tanya has so generously provided for us all. I look forward to reading your piece on the Voices prompt and your own Substack.
Hello Tracey! So good to meet you too and to know you are in Brisbane! How cool is the internet hey 🙌. Really looking forward to reading you here and on your Substack. I love the name by the way and the idea of words releasing spells 💖 Great to connect x
Thank you for your lovely, warm welcome. Also a fellow Bathonian too!! I am looking forward to being a part of this creative community as I am sure you are. I am half way through The Cure for Sleep and I completely agree with you. It is so heartbreaking on one hand and full of a love for life and all it’s beautiful moments on the other, I do not want it to end. I hope you find so much creativity from being here as I hope to x
Hi, I’m Nat. Tanya’s book left me altered, in a quiet but deeply powerful way. I’m still not sure what I can do with that change inside, but The Cure for Sleep will stay with me and will, I know, contribute to whatever I become.
I am a Mother of two and aside from that, am defined by illness, not by the interesting and awe inspiring jobs and interests that so many of you describe here . My mental health has been poor for the majority of my life and now my physical health too with a chronic illness. Days I am doing better, reading, writing and connecting with nature all take me to another place, one where I feel free and alive. I am not a writer but I adore writing. Tanya’s community here gave me the courage to submit something on ‘Longing’ and I feel beyond privileged that she gave it a place within this project.
Anyway, I got far too heavy there! Hi everyone! Nat x
I just replied to you higher up on this thread, but wanted to say here that you haven't been too heavy here at all! That this space, and what we're all doing here together, is - I hope - a place where we can lay down our burdens for a while: our feelings of being too much, too little, and all other senses we've carried of being the wrong shape. If we are here with our whole hearts and best intentions, reading each other with attention - as you absolutely are, and do - then we belong here. xxx
Hi Nat! I have just read your piece on Longing and oh it is so very moving indeed! I enjoyed reading it and actually, read it again because there is so much in so few words to take in with just one read. Beautiful!
Hello, all. I'm Laura and live in the northeastern US. I'm a creative octopus (cartoons, essays, writing tunes, cooking, silly YouTube channel and more), but honestly I don't do any of them as much as I'd love to, and I've tended to keep my life small. Not sure that suits me anymore.
Hi Tim, I am also a Hampshire soul though I am currently living in Australia. I do miss the beauty of the Downs but fortunately Mother Nature creates many different kinds of beauty all over the world. I am planning to write a memoir which has been totally inspired by the wonderful Tanya.
Hello everyone. I’m Amanda and I live at the western edge of the New Forest in SE England, but originally from London followed by a few years in Cornwall where I studied ecology. I was so delighted to discover this wonderful project towards the end of last year, and so far I’ve contributed just a couple of pieces and have been really appreciating reading what others are writing. Although I’ve always dabbled a little in writing for my own enjoyment, and have spent a few years doing copywriting for a nature website, it’s only recently I’m taking creative writing more seriously. It’s helping me grow: not just the writing but also the nurturing and supportive connections with others on creative pathways. My main focus so far has been nature/place writing and I blog at https://newtalesoldforest.com - I love being out in the countryside and walking - but I’m hoping to explore more things. Writing memoir here has been an eye and a heart opener! I am on Instagram at @ascott9618 if anyone wants to connect there. So glad to be part of this community!
Hi Amanda, it is lovely to get to know you! I used to live on the edge of the New Forest prior to coming down here to Australia. I lived in Marchwood and we spent as much time as we could in the forest with the dog. We always head straight there too when we are back home. A beautiful spot with so many wonderful old trees and of course the wildlife is magnificent too! I am going to check out your blog as well as your IG.
I’m Elena. I grew up In Moscow but now call Bristol (UK) home. I’m a huge fan on Tanya’s book and this Substack project but still struggling to get my head around all the technical bits of the app. I can’t even seem to copy and paste the link to my contribution. I’ve also somehow managed to post one story on my own page but now can’t even upload an image for the new one 🫣. Sorry, not very exciting introduction but you probably get the picture that I’m someone from the last century. I’m much closer connected to the Wood Wide Web. I’m hugely interested in herbs, fungi and all things wild but also very passionate about writing and reading. Much love to you all and a huge ‘Thank You’ to Tanya for this wonderful community X
I’m from Pennsylvania, USA. I first heard Tanya on Katherine May’s podcast and knew I had to read the book. TCFS split me open, stunned by the poetry of the writing and the urgency of the message. The prompts led me to write in ways I never thought possible. I can finally say that I see myself as a creative and am honoring it by offering the muse time, respect and gratitude. My goal for the year is to send more writing out into the world. So much gratitude for Tanya and the other contributors who share so much of their lives here and offer such gracious responses. I’ve posted so much here and read so many others that it does now feel like a community.
I will share this link from the Longing prompt because it has led to so much more writing due to one of the contributors, Paul Miller, saying it sounded like the “precis of a longer piece.” That is the beauty of this space. I never would have looked at it that way, but since then, I have been writing a series of prose poems/short essays from a variety of points of view about longing, joy, cows, lists, birds….. So happy to be here. xxx
Watching you create a body of work within this project has been a joy - and I'm so thrilled to know you're now about to start work with Katy Aalto on longer form work. Lucky Katy and your new coursemates - and I hope I get to read some of that longer work one season soon... xx
I submitted my first work last week, I thought it was good, not great. Really hard for me to shift gears, but I just remind myself that it is about learning and growing when my head starts to hurt. When I get something written that I like better, I would love to share it with you. Also, I'm not going anywhere, just submitted something to the terrible question prompt and will be first in line if you do a class we pay for. I know you've said in the past you wanted to make sure you had something to offer that others weren't, and that seems fair, but I think each teacher has her own unique approach and yours would definitely be worth exploring. xx
I'd love to read your longer piece when you're ready.
And I'm not sure now I will be offering paid mentoring privately (though I continue to do it for organisations that fund me). But if I do ever, it would be limited places, and so of course I'd let you know in case it worked for you as I love watching your work develop as you know! xxx
Hi, I'm Tracey and live in Ireland. I was absolutely blown away by The Cure for Sleep when I first read it, and love being part of this little community. I'm a school principal and former English teacher, and reading is my main hobby!
I'd love to be a writer, but I know I'm holding myself back through fear and limiting beliefs, and the opportunity to submit contributions here is wonderful.
I am Tina and I live in the Beautiful Roman city of Bath.
I have only recently stumbled upon Tanya on Instagram and have just started reading “The cure for sleep” which has me spellbound already.
I have always been a quiet creative person. Reading, I had the joy of working in a small Independent bookshop for 30years, knitting and writing poetry. Two poems I had published with a Vanity Press Anthology. Sadly over the last few years I have lost my way creatively, two elderly parents and an ailing husband have taken over my time and energy. I have lost the creative thread.
Seeing Tanya’s positive energy and how she overcame such trauma in her book has given me the push I need to keep my own creativity flowing and not to be stifled by life’s demands and negatives. As I am new I will ease myself gently in, but I look forward to learning so much more about myself and what being creative can do for our overall happiness and health.
'I have always been a quiet creative person' - if I had to say, quickly, in one line, why I created this project and for who? That would be the form of words I'd use.
Thank you so much for spending time with my book and it would be an absolute pleasure to receive stories from you on any of the themes in the project. If you're wanting to feel quite hidden still, perhaps add to one of the Season One themes?
Just thought I’d say a little ‘hello’ Tina, as a fellow Bathonian! I’m Nat, The Cure for Sleep moved me in a way I really wasn’t ready for, or expecting, but it’s definitely a good thing for me. (I am also new here!)
The timing of my Bath Festival event was so frustrating - how much I was hoping to treat you to coffee and to enjoy a talk about life and writing. So glad you've joined the community. x
Hello, I’m Jan and two years ago I moved from North Norfolk to West Yorkshire. I joined the local writing group on Zoom in lockdown and it has really encouraged me to have more confidence in my writing. Previously I had contributed to two local history books for Sheringham museum whilst exploring my love of textiles. Before I ran away to the seaside I had just divorced and achieved a long held dream of attending university and getting a degree in Sociology.
Now I am trying various forms of poetry and Drabbles to explore my “lived experience” as a means of understanding what the hell happened there basically!
As often happens a book appears in your life at just the exact time that you need to read it . A friend recommended TCFS and I joined Tanya’s community by contributing two pieces. The world needs more people like Tanya and I am so glad to have been introduced to her book, her valuable, generous work and be here in the community!
My aim now is to produce a collection of my poetry and illustrate with my own artwork however long it takes, I am 66 this year so it will be my retirement project.
I will mention my experience here with many years of chronic illness as it seems to be a companion to creativity in many cases
When I am not writing, knitting, crocheting or messing with clay I am revelling in the unexpected joy of being nanny Jan to my 2 year old grandson.
I have a poem in the current exhibition at Sheringham Museum, work in the anthology Making Waves by The Otley Writers and a poem included in the soon to be published online fundraising book for The EDS Support UK.
Sheila here, based in Ireland. I’m a freelance researcher/ writer / producer and generally curious about life though I do seem to get drawn most frequently to music, arts, history, outdoors and people. I first contributed to Tanya’s community 2 years ago and am inspired by the breadth of responses by people to her prompts. I’m currently in the final months of an MA in Travel and Nature Writing and the best place to find my work just now is on Instagram @sheiladecourcy Big thanks to Tanya for creating this community and to you all for contributing!
Hi, I am Helen and I live in Brighton with my partner & 2 kids. I also work at Tanya’s old university workplace on the edge of Brighton! I only just started contributing to Tanya’s awesome project last year & it’s helped me to start remember my voice & start to explore a long hidden creative side. I have written initially as Helen https://thecureforsleep.com/november-issue-reading/#Helen and more recently added my middle name Louise as I developed a tiny bit more courage to own my pieces and my voice. Really really enjoying quietly discovering a part of myself through this project so massive thanks Tanya xx
I am a Southerner too, I'm from Hampshire though I'm currently living in Australia. I too am enjoying discovering a part of myself through this project! So very generous of Tanya. 🙏
I'm Tracey, an expat living currently living near Brisbane, Australia. I am from Hampshire in the UK and despite living here for a number of years now, I still miss home.
I came across Tanya via the wonderful Sharon Blackie and absolutely loved The Cure for Sleep, devouring it so quickly that I had to read it again slowly to fully immerse myself in all of the magick that lies therein.
I joined Tanya's community because my long held and deeply buried desire to write was awoken from its slumber by TCFS and I wanted somewhere safe to put my toes into the water so to speak.
I am a healer by trade, (Hypnosis, Transpersonal Counseling, Reiki, Flower Essences, Herbs, etc.) healing with my hands, my spoken words, herbs and flower essences, and now I am hoping that I can learn to heal with my written words too.
I have always captured moments with my paint brush or pencil, seeing scenes as images and pondering over their colours and textures, however now I am learning to capture moments with my pen and I am loving the challenge!
I have even started my own Substack called Releasing Spells (link below), which I am very excited about. I have started to add my responses to Tanya's TCFS prompts and plan to add more in due course. I do not have any creative writing training at this stage although it is something that I would love to do in the future.
I am looking forward to connecting with more writers and can't thank Tanya enough for creating this space for us all.
Tracey, you are such a generous member of this community - as you are in Hagitude. And it's a joy to receive and curate your words. I've just subscribed to your Substack in turn, and will enjoy following your work even once our year on Sharon's program is ended. xx
I’m now needing to go look on Hagitude to see why I thought you were also on there! This does happen sometimes as people I talk with on here have different names & profile pics on other channels where I’m also connected to them! I may have been assuming a Tracey in Hagitude is also you writing here! Oh dear… xxx
Hi Tanya. I’m really new here I think someone must have linked me. Your book sounds fascinating I’ve popped it on my wish list. I love that quote on your website where you talk about listing things you love so I’ll do some of that here...
I’m Claire. I’m a creative and I live in Northumberland by the coast with my husband and two children who I love dearly.
We have pet chickens and a pond full of tadpoles and everything is just bursting into life in the garden which I always love about Spring here.
We can see the sea from our windows which is just such a beautiful thing. I sometimes forget to look because it’s in the distance but my heart knows the view in every type of weather.
I’m a creative, a writer, a mentor. I’ve spent my career supporting artists, working on funding bids and in cool and transformational projects and working abroad too.
It’s so lovely to be here and read everyone’s hellos!
Re Substack Notes yes I feel like Substack are really pushing the bigger accounts but I’m hopeful we can hear more voices and it’s used as both a marketing tool and a tool to share beautiful words and quotes - wouldn’t that be nice? 🗒️✨💡
Claire! A belated but very warm welcome! I've been saving this thread up as a treat for my first quiet morning, and it's a wonderful feeling to get a sense of where you and other subscribers are from, and where you are in your creative lives. Please don't feel you have to read my book before starting to write for the project - I designed it to be for anyone who wants to share short true stories on any or all of the themes. x
Hello everyone. I am very late to this party but I hope to do some of Tanya's prompts before the year ends and she closes her Substack.
I am Becky, an artist and writer from Derbyshire. I finished The Cure for Sleep a few days ago and found it filled me with a desire to write so here I am. I really enjoy writing prompts but I am guilty of being an inconsistent writer, often going weeks without writing anything other than what I have to write for my 9-5. I did a writing course last year and I really thought I had a memoir in me but I have come to realise it is filled with a lot of anger, focusing more on those that caused me pain, than those that healed me or even myself. A feeling that in writing in I will get my vengeance. That isn't the story I want to write. I am hoping doing some of Tanya's prompts will help me on my way to finding my true story.
Thank you for reading. 🖤
You know already, Becky, how much I appreciated you letting me know about your reading experience of The Cure for Sleep. Thank you too for saying hello here now. Although, yes, it will be much quieter on my Substack from now til end of year, I’m still going to read and curate suitable pieces for some months yet, so I do hope some will tempt you to try!
Hello again, I thought that I'd just introduced myself but it's not showing up here so in case I didn't press the right button, I'm Marika and am just getting to the point of making the time to write and get my words beyond the doodle phase, which I have always wanted to do. I'm also in a state of delighted disbelief - can it be true - it's just that as I was grappling with my first post for The Cure for Sleep and hoping to get the words let alone the count right, Tanya endorsed my Substack endeavour by subscribing; magic synchronicity. Thank you! it has given me so much encouragement.
Your words have all come through safe and sound! And based on your first piece you are so very far beyond the doodle phase. Your portrait of Lily in the gestures section is as complete and full of interest as any same-length passage in Laurie Lee (the writer I find does the best and most fond portraits of the people he loves). xxx
Thank you Tanya for your curation and generous giving of comments and encouragement! I'm so glad I managed to press the post button and am really looking forward to responding to other prompts in this wonderful project. It's actually quite a big moment for me and I love that I feel childishly excited.
I feel excited too!
After a long run of the best health I’ve ever enjoyed (and worked hard for), I’m now once again in the time of emergencies and illness: an ambulance trip a few weeks ago and an urgent scan next week. I’m having to give up almost everything related to writing - no events, no visiting lecturer work, no online sessions - and yet I want to keep this creative community going even though its the work that’s unpaid. I will do it from a hospital bed if needs be! Each time someone like you gets through the fear of pressing send and shares a beautiful piece of work I am in the company I want to keep. xx
Hello,
I'm Marika and I live in West Cork Ireland. I am a creative art therapist working with a diverse client group, and as I lessen my work load there is an intention to write. I am getting to retirement, so it's pretty late in life, but have always scribbled my thoughts down and would consider myself an erratic doodler who would love to pull the threads together for a memoir. I joined Substack last year with the intention of writing in response to Tanys's wonderful prompts having heard her interviewed by Sharon Blackie for the Hagitude podcast and then joined the programme which was great.
I literally had no idea how nerve wracking it is to press 'post' - and how long I would procrastinate - but I've managed a couple of times and this week posted my first one in the Gesture section of The Cure for Sleep . I'm now looking forward to writing more being part of this lovely and supportive community.
Thanks Tanya for offering this!
Marika! I’ve just had the pleasure of reading and curating your first piece for the project, and so it’s a joy to now find this lovely introduction/hello from you to all of us here. Your piece on your elegant elder Lily is exceptional.
I love that you’ve spoken here to that very real fear most of us have of pressing ‘post’ or ‘send’ when it comes to our creative work, or our wish to join a community. I hope that my feedback and any comments you get from other project members means that you will soon be free of that hesitation and post often. I will so enjoy seeing what you do with the other prompts.
Txx
Hello !
I have introduced myself on here before but it was back in April so its been a while and I wanted to share my gratitude for this wonderful platform.
Sharing my words on here and receiving Tanya's incredibly valuable responses has given me the confidence to turn my many notes into the makings of a first draft of my memoir.
I was fortunate enough to win a mentoring opportunity with Tanya , which was truly priceless for me. Tanya's encouragement has helped me to accept myself as a writer and this continues to propel me in working on 'the first draft'.
Here is a link to one of the pieces of writing that I have written using one of Tanya's prompts - https://thecureforsleep.com/gestures/#charlottedawson
I
Hello Tanya, I haven’t responded to any of your prompts yet as I still haven’t resonated with any. I’m slowly working my way through the resource list you sent me. I’m letting ideas incubate to see if they develop into anything. I’m continuing to work on a sort of memoir in response to a gift received, but still question if it’s what I want to do, but my sense of duty drives me onward. It’s brought forth lots of new questions for me to think about and try to answer, so maybe not a bad thing.
I’m still thinking that I need to tell the story of the women in my family but I’m struggling with how I might do this when at best it would be a very subjective telling because I didn’t even know one of my grandmothers and the life of my mother and her mother are shrouded in secrets and lies.I continue to read other’s memoirs to observe how they approached the topic.
Hope you are well.
I am well, yes. Thank you. I'm back in Sussex now after my week away teaching in Yorkshire (the former home of poet Ted Hughes). It's my last public event for a long time and so, like you, I'm going to be spending winter reading others' memoirs once again, learning instead of teaching.
I'm going to keep the three seasons of prompts here free and for the long term, so that anyone finding them can write for them and get feedback (or write for them more than once if they want to revisit a topic). I hope at some point, as you work more on your story, that you might want to test some of your work-in-progress out via one or more of the themes, to see how readers here respond to it.
Txx
Just a quick note to say I'm teaching an intensive residential in Yorkshire this week and I'm without my laptop. But I wanted you to know your piece has been received by me and I will read it and respond properly when I'm home after the 4 December. Tanya x
Hello Tanya, This sun-drenched Monday morning brought your post to my attention, where it sits against a backdrop of the lightly frosted landscape that stretches out before my eyes through the window in my third floor Haven. I'm excited to explore your work, especially since you've linked writing to sleep (or not sleeping). I've just finished a memoir (to be published in four months) and I still cannot sleep. Writing, even though I'm a retired writing professor and former journalist, seems to own my sleep/waking state. When I sleep, I dream in stories. When I'm not sleeping, I dream up stories. Is there no cure? Being here, I feel the safety of others who live on the threshold of story and sleep. Here's one of my recent posts. So glad to find you. Jane https://storycarrier.substack.com/p/why-i-call-myself-a-story-carrier
Hello Jane! Thank you for making contact - I will enjoy reading your linked post, and finding out more about your practice. And I remember very well that ennervating pre-publication period! It's unlike anything I've ever experienced, including waiting for my two children to be born.
Hi Tanya! Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I too look forward to writing some pieces starting with the latest theme. The book resonated on so many levels, it was good to be reminded that my demons are not unique and that we can choose to keep going so great company for the road!
...I've just been looking at your work. Very strong - and of course in an area I admire very much, knowing David Nash as I do, and loving the work of him, Fulton, Julie Brook. I'll be interested to see how your art work informs your prose responses to the themes, or if you write from a different place to your art making...
Thank you Tanya. It is interesting that you say that because the most joy I have ever found in writing was connected with this work and with connecting with my place. It has been an immensely rich and emotional journey discovering how I might weave my own story into the story of this place. After a break I am only now ready to pick up the threads of the work again to continue the onward journey. One step at a time!
All the best art and stories come from that - one step at a time (thinking here of Richard Long's A Line Made by Walking, Cash's I Walk The Line, Basho's Travels of a Weather-Exposed Skeleton and more!)
Hi there,
My name is Brian and I live in Sligo, Ireland. I am a visual artist with a multidisciplinary, research led practice. My work is concerned with connection to place. It all started as an inquiry into my feelings of disconnection from where I live now. I realised I have always felt that way and wondered why. I created a body of work called Fieldworks (2023) from these starting points which was part of my MFA submission at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. You can see some of the work here https://ncad.works/graduates/brian-cooney
It was actually during my MFA that I had a realisation of how important writing is to me. I also had the amazing experience of writing and being surprised and excited by what came out on the page, the possibility of writing as a way of speaking, the similarity between written and spoken words that might be possible. I didn't know what I was putting down on the page and I found this really amazing, emotional and freeing. It was such a joyful experience, like some inner part of me was making itself heard at last. Previous to that experience I had always composed texts in a controlled manner, setting out a structure and then populating it with words. I realise now I always struggled with form because it is so formulaic and stiff. Since then I haven't quite managed to recapture that sense of joy again but I know I will.
The Cure for Sleep made me realise I need to keep going. It confirmed that it is possible to make art the everyday and the everyday art.
Hello Brian - what a wonderful introduction and thank you so much for joining us here. I really look forward to you contributing some pieces when you have time and interest. All the themes stay open for contributions - only this month's one is slightly different in that I'm not curating the pieces over on the cure for sleep website, from wanting to give still more feedback than I usually do given it's a Why Write prompt.
Moved that you read the book and that it was helpful to you in your own decision to keep going. That's exactly what I hoped it might be - company for the road!
Will now go explore your link!
I'm Shazz, I live with Ivy, my cat on Anglesey, North Wales, UK. I'm a former Occupational Therapist.
For decades my former school history teacher has tried to encourage me to write my memoir. I never believed I could write, partly due to dyslexia and partly due to believing other people who thought I'd amount to very little in life. After several challenging life changes enforced on me, I decided to make my own changes and I've been applying myself to learning the craft and profession of writing via online courses (Open University) and books (Cathy Rentzenbrink among others). I'm using every single negative comment that I remember being made about me as a positive reinforcer to persevere and persist.
Glad to meet you all here
So very good to have you join us here, Shazz. xx
Hello all,
I live on Vancouver Island, BC, originally from the New England area of the US. I found Tanya through Sharon Blackie's Hagitude course and have been very inspired! I am a dream worker and creative guide, facilitating dream groups and process painting workshops and had a hands on healing practice for many years prior.
I have always loved writing and had a dream of writing a book when I was younger. I love poetry and the idea of writing my life story to leave for future generations. I am here hoping to ignite my love for writing again and looking forward with a lot of curiosity to see what happens.
A lovely introduction Kristin, and I'm so glad you've joined us here after our meeting through Hagitude in this last year. xx
I am Maurni and I wish you all a cheery hello! I am a linguist, a wanderer, and a wonderer. Newly on the look out for Awe. I have found it here, in spades.
I have had story in me for eons and finally, I feel as if an itch has been scratched by being led to this community. Thank you for such an opportunity, Tanya!
I hear my own voice in so many voices on here: many of us doubting and questioning that burning inside that seeks an escape; many already found the way forward and accomplished their first writings; many seeking connections with like minds.
At 60, I have had a wonderful life thus far, but I know that what is ahead is going to eclipse that. And coming to this place of like-minded community, commonality, feels like my next beginning. I have just finished The Cure for Sleep, Tanya, and have been so engaged in the journey of it. Thank you. I also note many personal parallels. “Yes, the weight of these women. This role I’d been given as a small girl: to be the bearer of their stories …” This hooked me. I am the keeper of our family ancestry history and privately researching the incidence of anxiety through the maternal line, back generations. I feel the weight of that. Stoic women who held it all together .. for what? This is part of my story.
I found myself reluctantly on my own just over two years ago and have had an intense journey since then. I now know, from my work in that dark cave, that I could never have come to this space, here, writing, while in that relationship. With a clarity like never before, I know I am in the right place to complete my life dream, alone but not lonely. Myself as my guide and witness, I will write my story. This space with you all gives me impetus, feeds my confidence. I hope to return it. Blessings to all.
https://thecureforsleep.com/stay-this-moment/#maurniobeirne
Wonderful introduction, Maurni - 'a linguist, a wanderer, a wonderer.' The first two things I am not, but which I admire very much in others. I'm so very glad to have you here as a story writer as well as a reader. xx
Hi Tanya,
Paul Atherton (FRSA) here. Lovely yo meet you at the Nature Prize for working class writers last night at Octopus Books here in London.
I've only produced one Substack to date, which you can find here:
https://paulathertonfrsa.substack.com/p/my-orwell-prize-shortlist-disappointment
It will tell you a lot about my current homelessness, now into its 14th year, and the plights I have to survive what is becoming ever more a colder & heartless society.
I'm trying to find an agent for my memoir, Fighting The Dreamkillers, with the assistance of Hannah Knowles over at Faber & Faber,
And find my joy in the City I love.
I hopefully will contribute something for you soon.
It was lovely to meet you too - although I wish I'd met you earlier in the evening so we could have talked more right there and then! But I will read your link with interest and feel glad if this project can be a part of you sharing your work and reaching readers while you continue to move your memoir out into the wider world. If your words and story have got Hannah Knowles on side, then I'm sure it won't be long til you have an agent!
I really look forward to finding out more about what you do and why. Thank you for joining us here.
Hello
I'm Sharon and I live in Denbigh, North Wales because I found a house there that I could dream in. I kept dreaming and made words and those words made 'Linen and Rooks' a novel which I designed myself and a local printer made it just how I wanted it to be...in blue marbling, blue end papers and a blue ribbon.
I couldn't do structure so it's a very abstract, non linear narrative but I refuse to apologise for how unclear and ambiguous it is. I think others think it is just badly constructed but maybe that's not true!!!!!
I have two grown up children, one a chef and one a primary teacher/BA cabin crew and they seem much wiser and level headed than I ever was. They like this new house and the wildness of the garden.
I'm trying to run creative writing courses and write a memoir of childhood days and nightmares in Leicester...early days on both.
Long to connect with the writing community but it seems tougher than I anticipated
Lovely to read this intro from you Sharon. I've been bothered for a while by how changes to Twitter in particular have made it harder for aspiring and emerging writers to build a community and a readership - when I began finally in 2016, it was through Twitter that I got both my first small pieces read and then commissioned, as well as how I found residency opportunities and made writing friends. I do feel Substack is a good new place for this to happen, and that this project is one of those types of meeting places. Look forward to reading more of your work and hope that you find some likeminds here. Txxx
Hello, Claire in London here. It was around a year ago that I heard Tanya speak on Sharon Blackie’s podcast and was particularly taken by the archetype of the medial woman. From there I bought Tanya’s book and was quite afraid of how I felt when I read it, slowly eking it out while wanting to devour it at the same time. I messaged her on Instagram and was surprised that she replied and very warmly invited me to this community. Why I haven’t until this point is a bit of a mystery but within that time I’ve been further exploring my complicated ancestry (whose isn’t?), which is all part of the story I wish to tell. My handle on Instagram is @saintorrow if anyone wishes to read/see some of my everyday musings. Excited to contribute here as I limber up to that most challenging of hurdles – sharing the work.
Ooo can’t wait to read through this thread and meet you all. Thanks for the invite Tanya.
I’m Jen and I publish The Corpus Callosum Chronicles where I explore how myth, story and poetry can rebuild the bridge between imagination and logic, reuniting the brain hemispheres to create a holistic human culture.
I have a memoir coming out, that is more a ceremony really, called Piko: A Return to the Dreaming, this August 15th. It’s the account of a ceremony I held for 21 days in a very sacred place on Hawai’i Island where I live.
I’m currently publishing a series on how the principles of an ancient Hawaiian magical system called Heka can be applied to writing poems to elevate them to actual spells that can shift consciousness at will. Here’s a link to Part IV:
https://open.substack.com/pub/jenlighty/p/the-art-of-spell-casting-part-iv?r=j1jx2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thanks so much, Tanya, for creating this wonderful community! I wrote two stories-one is here-https://thecureforsleep.com/voices/#erikacleveland and today just added one more on the topic of Terrible Stories. I am first an artist, a doll-maker. But I love to write and have tried to write many short stories and three novels (!!!) but none of them really ever gelled. Except for an erotic short story that was published in some sort of anthology years ago.
Your challenge to condense a story into 300 words is really helping me to write. It reminds me of the apocryphal story by Mark Twain, " I didn't have time to write a short letter so I wrote a long one." Having to choose words more carefully concentrates the mind. Also, I make my dolls for healing and so far, this writing here has been healing as well. I am trying to be brave and write about things that scare me and thus, by getting them out into the world, somehow release them.
And it is also wonderful to be able to witness and be amazed by the honesty and courage in other writers here. Thank you again!
Oh, and I live in Washington, DC with my husband, my two adult kids, one who is sort of on her own, working and has an apartment, the other still finding his way. And a Dogo Argentino that my husband got after our Old English bulldog died suddenly during the pandemic. I am getting braver around this large and sometimes scary dog ( who has mellowed a lot with a lot of dog training.)
Hi, I'm Sarah. I live in North Devon. I spent my working life in Child Psychiatry, and retired in 2020. I was lucky enough to be able to retire early, and I was worried I wouldn't get a retirement, so I jumped at the chance. I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2008. I'm still "living with" rather than "dying of" but I'm starting to run out of treatment options.
My first poetry chapbook - The Crow Gods - was published in May this year by Sidhe Press. This time last year I was talking to the editor, Annick Yerem, about "my legacy". And, yes, I'm so glad I was self-aware enough to put that in quotes, because she has quoted it back at me.
I can't remember how I met Tanya and her work. I was an early contributor to the Substack project, and I remember waiting for the book to come out. I bought it in hardback - something I rarely do, and I've bought it again in paperback to give to people who I think need it.
I'm not in this space as often as I should be. It's such an open, honest community, and when I am here, I really appreciate it. Tanya is such a support and a celebrator of writers of all levels of experience. She is a story midwife.
Happy to have found this wonderful community.
I am Anoushka, living in London. I have followed a winding path that has finally led me back to writing. In previous lives, I studied Biomedical Science and then was a patent litigator (lawyer). Since having children, I have (gladly) left all that behind. My eldest son is autistic and I am his full time carer and home educator. It has taken a long time to arrive at a point where I feel able to bump myself up the priority list a little. I start a masters in Creative Writing in the autumn which can’t come soon enough. I particularly love creative nonfiction and life writing - both to read and to write. I keep a blog (although it is on hiatus - www.spitting-yarn.com) and can be found @spittingyarn on Twitter and Instagram. Looking forward to reading more of everyone’s work.
Hi, I'm Davina and live in Cambridge, UK with my husband and teenage daughter.
I read and loved The Cure for Sleep which brought me to this Substack community. Lots of themes in the book chimed with me, reminding me of my younger life growing up on a council estate in the north of England, loving books and desperately wanting to be a writer but feeling like an outsider much of the time.
I've written professionally for work (website posts etc) but less often for myself - although I recently did a life-writing course, which got me back into writing personal memoir. Like Tanya and others here, I now feel the need to start writing in earnest - and have decided this year will be all about making up for lost time and projects unfinished! I've recently submitted a piece to this writing project - which I'm so very grateful for, since it seems to be unlocking memories that I've always struggled to write about in the past. Looking forward to reading and sharing more on here.
Hello, I'm Catherine - and I'm new to substack having recently read The Cure for sleep.
My eldest was born in quite a dramatic fashion when I suffered pre-eclampsia at eight months pregnant and Tanya it was so refreshing to read an account of traumatic birth as a mother. It's a topic I've rarely read about. My daughter and I were very fortunate and recovered very swiftly, although I took longer due to surgery.
I write to present church services every week so feel I can call myself a writer but that is very much for my 'job' . I feel very called to write and create in other ways, but working six days a week means that is difficult. Very difficult..so I'm a thwarted creative. Love to paint and craft.
Living within a walking distance of the sea means I can get a good lung full of sea air regularly but my heart is in the mountains and rivers of other parts of Wales really.
I'm aware I will be judged for being a minister, ... However I'm used to that as for some I'm seen as too liberal / hippy / inclusive.....I'm not here to preach, but to learn and explore, although im aware my situation will inform my writing but then isn't that true for us all?
Hi all, I discovered Tanya and a Cure for Sleep via a friend's recommendation and also the Hagitude programme with Sharon Blackie. Always a reader I never thought about writing until I hit my 50s, and I still stop and start with the idea that I might be one.
I live in Stroud, Gloucestershire, surrounded by beautiful countryside, so many creative people, and ghosts from my past that tell me to just hush my mouth, no good will come of me writing. Nevertheless, sometimes it is pulled from me like an impacted molar by a well placed prompt (Tanya is particularly good at this).
I am trying to make space for ideas to come to me after a lifetime of daughtering, wifeing and mothering. I'd love to uncover my 'Mile of Writing' soon.
Good evening. I'm Carolyn....finding myself inspired by this season's question and just trying to work out how to use Substack. Thank you Tanya for all your encouragement. Originally from Yorkshire I'm a Maga woman living in Northern NSW, Australia - a grandmother and lots of other things besides. Thank you for having me here and I look forward to making my first contribution with trepidation and excitement. Together we rise!
Hi, I'm Zoe and I live in Northern Ireland, although not from here originally. I think of myself as a nomad, having hopped from place to place since my island childhood days. Always happiest when I can hear the sea at night.
I write in my job, but would love to write more freely, for myself, and discover where it may lead.
I can't remember where, or when, I came across Tanya's work, but it immediately resonated. This community is a wonderful idea.
I've written in scraps and scribbles between three children. I'd like to start again with some structure and direction. I think this is what Tanya is offering here. A judgement-free space. Nice to meet you all and thank you Tanya xx
Hello, I'm Sue. I live in in a small town that doesn't quite know if it's in Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire, but it's not far from Hitchin which is about 30 miles north of London.
I grew up in the North London suburbs, went away, came back and settled in Potters Bar in South Hertfordshire where we raised our three children. I've always had strong links with East Sussex and have spent as much time there as I could - it's only for the last year that I've been living where I am now.
I was a teacher for more than 40 years. I began in Islington, inner London and gradually shifted from teaching English and French to students with challenging inner-city lives to teaching children with severe learning difficulties back out in the suburbs. Later I became a nursery teacher, later still an Early Years advisor, suffering acute Impostor Syndrome throughout those 10 years and not believing that had any right at all to tell others how to be good teachers. For the final 4 years of my teaching life, I returned to the classroom and taught Early Years, then English in a wonderful school for students with Physical and Neurological Impairment (PNI). That was an amazing 4 years, full cycle, back where I started!
But by then my whole life had changed. A very long and happy marriage ended with my husband disappearing with another woman, then my father died and my mother gradually became more dependent and infirm. Amidst all this, and it all happened suddenly and over a short space of time, I met the man who is now my partner. It's taken a good while to get to grips with it all.
And now I have 6 grandchildren , all of them living fairly close by. I spend a lot of time looking after them so my daughters - both also teachers - can work and I love every moment. And at last, plenty of time to do all the other things I love too.
I've always wanted to be a writer. Secretly, I've always thought of myself as one although there have been many, many doubts and fears. The number of notebooks that I've worked my way through proves that I DO write, but it's never been an easy thing to share my words and there have also been long, frustrating periods when nothing at all seemed to want to be written.
I've arrived here via Hagitude where Tanya so brilliantly and lovingly curates the 'Growing our Creative Confidence' thread. Being part of that and reading 'The Cure for Sleep' has been a huge catalyst for change; I've become able to look at myself and my writing differently, to understand why I need to write and to be less fearful. It feels good. Thank you, Tanya.
I haven't contributed much here yet just one piece in 'Birthday Letters', but I have followed all Tanya's prompts on the Hagitude thread. I plan to follow more here and have also taken the plunge and set up my own Substack writing space. I'll use this same introduction there and after that, I'll dive in and see where it takes me!
A big thank you to Amanda Cooke for guiding me here. I write the My Weird and Wonderful Life Substack about my journey into spirituality, channeling, NDE, and the adventures hypnosis has taken me on.
Browsing through these comments, I see so many artists and people creating spaces to life others. That fills my heart.
By the way, I am from the heart of Canada, living smack dab in the middle of the prairies of Saskatchewan. Granted, I am a city girl but I can get from one end to the other of ours in 20 minutes... now the next major city is 40 minutes away so I live where there are many wide open spaces...
Hi Tanya,
Hope you are keeping well with all that is going on for you and thank you for creating this wonderful place. I have only dipped in a few times as I am still on the edges of writing memoir. But your supportive community has certainly helped creek open the door a little more. I would love to write more about my Dad, but the feelings are still too raw to do this in any depth (still) - your prompts are tiny windows when I have a moment of strength. Maybe one day they will meld together into something bigger. Here is one of my more uplifting contributions to your project:
https://thecureforsleep.com/gestures/#vanessawright
Thanks again for all that you do and for your generosity,
Vanessa xx
Hi Tanya, I’m Nic Treadwell from Dudley in the Black Country. I’ve been writing off and on most of my life and now, in my fifties I’m trying to be more creative, and produce more work. For many years I produced a music and poetry podcast which featured others work with a bit of mine mixed in. Now I use substack https://open.substack.com/pub/nictreadwell?r=1eh0xb&utm_medium=ios and Spotify’s podcast app to produce and voice my work. I write stuff that’s inspired by my own life, I’m also interested in parody and use that as a tool to write in different voices, sometimes with I hope, hilarious results. I’m about to read your book and look forward to joining this community.
Hello! I'm writing a memoir here on substack, a daily postcard that makes the whole manageable. I write and post every morning and I keep them short. The project's called #OneMinuteMemoir and you can find it here - https://eleanoranstruther.substack.com Please come and say hello! It's hugely cathartic and also, as a novelist, a real blessing to have somewhere to publish shorter pieces day to day while I work on the long stuff. Being connected with readers means everything to me. It really helps.
Hello lovely people,
I’m Emily Tamas and I live on beautiful Gumbaynggirr country on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, Australia. I am currently resisting a return to classroom teaching since having my two children and I spend my afternoons and evenings tutoring students in Secondary School English. Books have always been my way of understanding the world and of understanding how to be in the world. Stories, poetry, plays - they all have an incredible ability to sneak in the back door of our consciousness and lay the seeds for new ways of seeing and new ways of being. I find this remarkable. One of the primary reasons why I love books so much is this ability they have to open up space for imaginative possibilities. I have always wanted to write but I have always been crippled by the fear of failure and the fear of being seen and noticed. Reading (and re-reading) Tanya’s book is planting new seeds for me and prompting me to dare to put my writing in a public place. It feels utterly terrifying. It also feels utterly delightful to read the comforting, supportive and uplifting embrace that is offered to all the writer’s here from both Tanya and Tanya’s contributors. I am beginning to find some courage.
Much love,
Em xx
https://thecureforsleep.com/voices/#emilytamas
Hello,
I’m Maria and I am originally from Lisbon, Portugal, but have lived in Yorkshire for many years. I work as an Academic Librarian, but I would spend my days reading, writing and travelling if I could. And learning languages, I would like to speak them all! I wish I could read all books in the language they were written, but I am fascinated by translation too – I am full of contradictions like that. Even before I found out about The Cure for Sleep, Tanya captivated me with her Concentrates of Place which she shares on Instagram and are just wonderful – we share a delight for tins, and what an amazing way to encapsulate the mood or sense of a place. I came here enticed by Tanya after a mentoring session, but also looking for an encouraging community of like-minded people who would support me in developing my creative confidence. I am trying to write memoir and short stories. Tanya’s prompts have given me structure and a focal point and I am so grateful to her for that; I have not contributed much yet, but here is the link to my first piece: https://thecureforsleep.com/november-issue-reading/#mariasimoes
Hi
I'm Corinne, l've lived in Queensland Australia for about 10 years now but home will always be Chichester in West Sussex.
Last month I got a very delicate fine line tattoo on the inside of my right wrist. It says ' La Boheme.'
Not because I'm a particularly big fan of Puccini, although I did once live with an opera singer in Italy, but because the essence of the word "bohemian" speaks to my heart. I love to make beautiful things. I see art everywhere. I'm really quite obsessed and hugely passionate about creativity as a means of expression and freedom. I love to paint, and sketch with charcoal, I've written poetry, short stories and non-fiction. But I've never sought to have my work published or sold, mostly because I was always afraid it might change my relationship to Art and the creative process. But something has changed recently. I feel I have something to say. Something I want to be heard. I'm not quite sure what that is yet. So perhaps that's why I've landed here.
I'm very much looking forward to listening and learning from this wonderful community.
Warmly
Corinne
I'm Rosalyn Huxley and I am writing an amusing (I hope) book called Age Appropriate plus a collection of short stories called Endgames (Beckett not related...) I live on the Jurassic Coast and started writing full time after a life working in the cultural and charity sector (as Ros Fry). During the pandemic I took an MA in Creative Writing at Exeter University, met some interesting students, gave up my job at Cancer Research UK and felt happier than I had for a long time. I teach creative writing on allotments even though I cannot garden.
I'm new to this Substack, drawn by fandom for The Cure for Sleep. I live on the Jurassic Coast and just spent a week writing on my favourite island, Lundy. After a career working in the arts and charity sector I took MA Creative Writing a Exeter, met some great fellow students and now working on a novel called Age Appropriate and a collection of short stories about life after work, called Endgames (nothing like Beckett!). I run workshops in creative writing in allotments even though I am a rubbish gardener...Ros Huxley
Hi! I live on the Jurassic Coast too!
Hi Jane, I am in Bridport, so do let me know if you are around.
Hey Tanya; everyone :)
I'm Georgie, living and creating in Brighton. I'm a visual artist (I draw), creative mindfulness teacher and workshop facilitator.
I've just been singing the praises of The Cure For Sleep in my last newsletter actually, because it's been the spark I needed in what felt like a very dark hole. I read the book at the same time I watched a very dear friend pass away from metastatic cancer at only 46, having only been diagnosed 3 months ago. We are devastated to say the least.
Whilst we witnessed a devastating loss, my husband and I also said farewell to my (number 2) son, who left to go backpacking around Asia. I could feel the maternal apron strings pull, stretch and break as I saw his flight leave the UK via my flight tracker! But seeing his fantastic smiling face on the occasional Facetime call, has been wonderful. It's felt like a loss in one respect, but an emergence in another. This time a much more joyous one.
You see, both these events and your book Tanya, have been life-affirming. They've reminded me to LIVE. I've since resigned from the full time job I disliked to pursue a freelance life once more. As an artist and teacher. Whilst unsteady and insecure, I'm living my values again.
I don't consider myself a writer. I use writing as a means of creative practice. But your book, this community and the stories I've read are immensely inspiring. They make me realise living the artist life is the only way to be, for me.
As a result, I'm also thinking about how I can take my art onto the Sussex Downs and practice it as a fully embodied experience of creation, outside the confines of my studio. To live large and free! (Anyone know much about converting camper vans into mobile studios?!)
I'm not sure where all of those words and confessions came from but I'll post them anyway. It's funny what pops up when someone who has inspired you at a profound time, simply asks you to say a quick hello ;)
Much love, Georgie x
Hi everyone and thanks for the invitation to say hi Tanya! I really appreciate the opportunity to connect and share in this way. I’m a 54 year old mother of a teenage daughter based in Meanjin (Brisbane) Australia. It still feels a bit cringy to call myself a writer but less and less so. I realise looking back I’ve always written, in my head and heart, but only now outloud in a way that feels good for me. It’s still an act of courage but I feel so compelled to do it in a way that I’ve never felt before. A lot of my work is anchored in memoir, my story of healing and emancipation and reconnection, but our stories are so universal at their heart, that the connection sharing brings has been so life giving. I also write poetry, however it comes and I love poems as a vessel for everything that we cannot say yet feel and know.
I love Substack. most of my subscribers are beautiful friends and family, and this platform and your Substack Tanya is really satisfying my deep longing for connection and wider community that feels in alignment with me.
It feels great to be here and I really look forward to reading everyone’s words. I made my first contribution to the voices promt yesterday. I haven’t tried notes yet but it does feel so much more accessible and meaningful, especially for us smaller tick folks.
Lots of love! Amanda ❤️🔥
It is lovely to 'meet you Amanda! I am also based in Brisbane and am fairly new to this beautiful space that Tanya has so generously provided for us all. I look forward to reading your piece on the Voices prompt and your own Substack.
Tracey x
Hello Tracey! So good to meet you too and to know you are in Brisbane! How cool is the internet hey 🙌. Really looking forward to reading you here and on your Substack. I love the name by the way and the idea of words releasing spells 💖 Great to connect x
Yes, so good to connect Amanda! I have just found you on IG too! I love the name...Appetite for Living!
Tracey x
Oh great and thanks Tracey! X
Hello Natalie
Thank you for your lovely, warm welcome. Also a fellow Bathonian too!! I am looking forward to being a part of this creative community as I am sure you are. I am half way through The Cure for Sleep and I completely agree with you. It is so heartbreaking on one hand and full of a love for life and all it’s beautiful moments on the other, I do not want it to end. I hope you find so much creativity from being here as I hope to x
Hi, I’m Nat. Tanya’s book left me altered, in a quiet but deeply powerful way. I’m still not sure what I can do with that change inside, but The Cure for Sleep will stay with me and will, I know, contribute to whatever I become.
I am a Mother of two and aside from that, am defined by illness, not by the interesting and awe inspiring jobs and interests that so many of you describe here . My mental health has been poor for the majority of my life and now my physical health too with a chronic illness. Days I am doing better, reading, writing and connecting with nature all take me to another place, one where I feel free and alive. I am not a writer but I adore writing. Tanya’s community here gave me the courage to submit something on ‘Longing’ and I feel beyond privileged that she gave it a place within this project.
Anyway, I got far too heavy there! Hi everyone! Nat x
I just replied to you higher up on this thread, but wanted to say here that you haven't been too heavy here at all! That this space, and what we're all doing here together, is - I hope - a place where we can lay down our burdens for a while: our feelings of being too much, too little, and all other senses we've carried of being the wrong shape. If we are here with our whole hearts and best intentions, reading each other with attention - as you absolutely are, and do - then we belong here. xxx
Hi Nat! I have just read your piece on Longing and oh it is so very moving indeed! I enjoyed reading it and actually, read it again because there is so much in so few words to take in with just one read. Beautiful!
Tracey x
Gosh! Thank you Tracey. I forget that people can actually read my piece so it’s a nice surprise to receive such kind words about it. Thank you x
You are very welcome!
Tracey x
Here is my piece - https://thecureforsleep.com/august-issue-longing/#natalie
This is so Beautifully written x
Beautiful and haunting piece xx
Hello, all. I'm Laura and live in the northeastern US. I'm a creative octopus (cartoons, essays, writing tunes, cooking, silly YouTube channel and more), but honestly I don't do any of them as much as I'd love to, and I've tended to keep my life small. Not sure that suits me anymore.
Hello, I am Sharon from Norfolk, UK. I joined this community after reading Tanya's book, as many other have said.
No creative writing experience, but have always journalled privately.
Have written two pieces for The Cure for Sleep, which you can also find on my substack
I love that you read your words Sharon, adds even more depth!
Tracey x
Thank you for your comment. I enjoyed reading it out loud!
https://open.substack.com/pub/sharonrestnidra?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android Might help if I shared the link, right?!
Hello, I'm Tim.
I'm a teacher, a solo parent to two wonderful sons, living in the Hampshire South Downs, and I'm writing a memoir, natch!
There's a chance that the memoir might start with a kind of ending, that I wrote in response to Tanya's request for stories of regret.
https://thecureforsleep.com/november-issue-on-regret/#timleroy
Tim I have just read your evocative piece on Regret. So very moving!
Tracey
Hi Tim, I am also a Hampshire soul though I am currently living in Australia. I do miss the beauty of the Downs but fortunately Mother Nature creates many different kinds of beauty all over the world. I am planning to write a memoir which has been totally inspired by the wonderful Tanya.
All the best with your memoir.
Tracey
Hello everyone. I’m Amanda and I live at the western edge of the New Forest in SE England, but originally from London followed by a few years in Cornwall where I studied ecology. I was so delighted to discover this wonderful project towards the end of last year, and so far I’ve contributed just a couple of pieces and have been really appreciating reading what others are writing. Although I’ve always dabbled a little in writing for my own enjoyment, and have spent a few years doing copywriting for a nature website, it’s only recently I’m taking creative writing more seriously. It’s helping me grow: not just the writing but also the nurturing and supportive connections with others on creative pathways. My main focus so far has been nature/place writing and I blog at https://newtalesoldforest.com - I love being out in the countryside and walking - but I’m hoping to explore more things. Writing memoir here has been an eye and a heart opener! I am on Instagram at @ascott9618 if anyone wants to connect there. So glad to be part of this community!
Oh and I love your blog Amanda!
Thank you x
Hi Amanda, it is lovely to get to know you! I used to live on the edge of the New Forest prior to coming down here to Australia. I lived in Marchwood and we spent as much time as we could in the forest with the dog. We always head straight there too when we are back home. A beautiful spot with so many wonderful old trees and of course the wildlife is magnificent too! I am going to check out your blog as well as your IG.
Tracey x
It’s lovely to connect with you, Tracey, and to hear of your New Forest connection, too!
Thank you! It is a small world 😊
Hello everyone!
I’m Elena. I grew up In Moscow but now call Bristol (UK) home. I’m a huge fan on Tanya’s book and this Substack project but still struggling to get my head around all the technical bits of the app. I can’t even seem to copy and paste the link to my contribution. I’ve also somehow managed to post one story on my own page but now can’t even upload an image for the new one 🫣. Sorry, not very exciting introduction but you probably get the picture that I’m someone from the last century. I’m much closer connected to the Wood Wide Web. I’m hugely interested in herbs, fungi and all things wild but also very passionate about writing and reading. Much love to you all and a huge ‘Thank You’ to Tanya for this wonderful community X
I really enjoyed your Kites for Living story, I know people like him! And I'm totally up for being part of the wood wide web! Loveliness!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Becs! X
Just wanted to add my Instagram account @liznojan_foraging if you’d like to connect there and say ‘hello’
I am looking forward to reading your posts!
Hello, everyone!
I’m from Pennsylvania, USA. I first heard Tanya on Katherine May’s podcast and knew I had to read the book. TCFS split me open, stunned by the poetry of the writing and the urgency of the message. The prompts led me to write in ways I never thought possible. I can finally say that I see myself as a creative and am honoring it by offering the muse time, respect and gratitude. My goal for the year is to send more writing out into the world. So much gratitude for Tanya and the other contributors who share so much of their lives here and offer such gracious responses. I’ve posted so much here and read so many others that it does now feel like a community.
I will share this link from the Longing prompt because it has led to so much more writing due to one of the contributors, Paul Miller, saying it sounded like the “precis of a longer piece.” That is the beauty of this space. I never would have looked at it that way, but since then, I have been writing a series of prose poems/short essays from a variety of points of view about longing, joy, cows, lists, birds….. So happy to be here. xxx
https://thecureforsleep.com/august-issue-longing/#sheilaknell
Watching you create a body of work within this project has been a joy - and I'm so thrilled to know you're now about to start work with Katy Aalto on longer form work. Lucky Katy and your new coursemates - and I hope I get to read some of that longer work one season soon... xx
I submitted my first work last week, I thought it was good, not great. Really hard for me to shift gears, but I just remind myself that it is about learning and growing when my head starts to hurt. When I get something written that I like better, I would love to share it with you. Also, I'm not going anywhere, just submitted something to the terrible question prompt and will be first in line if you do a class we pay for. I know you've said in the past you wanted to make sure you had something to offer that others weren't, and that seems fair, but I think each teacher has her own unique approach and yours would definitely be worth exploring. xx
I'd love to read your longer piece when you're ready.
And I'm not sure now I will be offering paid mentoring privately (though I continue to do it for organisations that fund me). But if I do ever, it would be limited places, and so of course I'd let you know in case it worked for you as I love watching your work develop as you know! xxx
Hey Shelia! TCFS has had that effect on me too! Life changing!
Tracey x
Hi, I'm Tracey and live in Ireland. I was absolutely blown away by The Cure for Sleep when I first read it, and love being part of this little community. I'm a school principal and former English teacher, and reading is my main hobby!
I'd love to be a writer, but I know I'm holding myself back through fear and limiting beliefs, and the opportunity to submit contributions here is wonderful.
https://thecureforsleep.com/gestures/#traceykennedy
Hello, Tracey - nice to meet you. Your introduction could be my own!
Hello,
I am Tina and I live in the Beautiful Roman city of Bath.
I have only recently stumbled upon Tanya on Instagram and have just started reading “The cure for sleep” which has me spellbound already.
I have always been a quiet creative person. Reading, I had the joy of working in a small Independent bookshop for 30years, knitting and writing poetry. Two poems I had published with a Vanity Press Anthology. Sadly over the last few years I have lost my way creatively, two elderly parents and an ailing husband have taken over my time and energy. I have lost the creative thread.
Seeing Tanya’s positive energy and how she overcame such trauma in her book has given me the push I need to keep my own creativity flowing and not to be stifled by life’s demands and negatives. As I am new I will ease myself gently in, but I look forward to learning so much more about myself and what being creative can do for our overall happiness and health.
'I have always been a quiet creative person' - if I had to say, quickly, in one line, why I created this project and for who? That would be the form of words I'd use.
Thank you so much for spending time with my book and it would be an absolute pleasure to receive stories from you on any of the themes in the project. If you're wanting to feel quite hidden still, perhaps add to one of the Season One themes?
xx
Just thought I’d say a little ‘hello’ Tina, as a fellow Bathonian! I’m Nat, The Cure for Sleep moved me in a way I really wasn’t ready for, or expecting, but it’s definitely a good thing for me. (I am also new here!)
The timing of my Bath Festival event was so frustrating - how much I was hoping to treat you to coffee and to enjoy a talk about life and writing. So glad you've joined the community. x
Hello, I’m Jan and two years ago I moved from North Norfolk to West Yorkshire. I joined the local writing group on Zoom in lockdown and it has really encouraged me to have more confidence in my writing. Previously I had contributed to two local history books for Sheringham museum whilst exploring my love of textiles. Before I ran away to the seaside I had just divorced and achieved a long held dream of attending university and getting a degree in Sociology.
Now I am trying various forms of poetry and Drabbles to explore my “lived experience” as a means of understanding what the hell happened there basically!
As often happens a book appears in your life at just the exact time that you need to read it . A friend recommended TCFS and I joined Tanya’s community by contributing two pieces. The world needs more people like Tanya and I am so glad to have been introduced to her book, her valuable, generous work and be here in the community!
My aim now is to produce a collection of my poetry and illustrate with my own artwork however long it takes, I am 66 this year so it will be my retirement project.
I will mention my experience here with many years of chronic illness as it seems to be a companion to creativity in many cases
When I am not writing, knitting, crocheting or messing with clay I am revelling in the unexpected joy of being nanny Jan to my 2 year old grandson.
I have a poem in the current exhibition at Sheringham Museum, work in the anthology Making Waves by The Otley Writers and a poem included in the soon to be published online fundraising book for The EDS Support UK.
Instagram@janhillier73
https://thecureforsleep.com/april-issue-hands/#JanHillier
Hi all!
Sheila here, based in Ireland. I’m a freelance researcher/ writer / producer and generally curious about life though I do seem to get drawn most frequently to music, arts, history, outdoors and people. I first contributed to Tanya’s community 2 years ago and am inspired by the breadth of responses by people to her prompts. I’m currently in the final months of an MA in Travel and Nature Writing and the best place to find my work just now is on Instagram @sheiladecourcy Big thanks to Tanya for creating this community and to you all for contributing!
I am following you on IG now, I am on IG as @holding_space_for_souls
I am looking forward to reading your posts 🙏
I’m following you both on IG as well now 🙂
Thank you Elena! I have found you too!
Tracey x
Hi, I am Helen and I live in Brighton with my partner & 2 kids. I also work at Tanya’s old university workplace on the edge of Brighton! I only just started contributing to Tanya’s awesome project last year & it’s helped me to start remember my voice & start to explore a long hidden creative side. I have written initially as Helen https://thecureforsleep.com/november-issue-reading/#Helen and more recently added my middle name Louise as I developed a tiny bit more courage to own my pieces and my voice. Really really enjoying quietly discovering a part of myself through this project so massive thanks Tanya xx
I love how you write, and I love too how you describe that growing comfort in sharing your words - what I hoped this space might offer. xx
Another Brighton writer and I used to work at Falmer !
Hi Helen Louise
I am a Southerner too, I'm from Hampshire though I'm currently living in Australia. I too am enjoying discovering a part of myself through this project! So very generous of Tanya. 🙏
Hello,
I'm Tracey, an expat living currently living near Brisbane, Australia. I am from Hampshire in the UK and despite living here for a number of years now, I still miss home.
I came across Tanya via the wonderful Sharon Blackie and absolutely loved The Cure for Sleep, devouring it so quickly that I had to read it again slowly to fully immerse myself in all of the magick that lies therein.
I joined Tanya's community because my long held and deeply buried desire to write was awoken from its slumber by TCFS and I wanted somewhere safe to put my toes into the water so to speak.
I am a healer by trade, (Hypnosis, Transpersonal Counseling, Reiki, Flower Essences, Herbs, etc.) healing with my hands, my spoken words, herbs and flower essences, and now I am hoping that I can learn to heal with my written words too.
I have always captured moments with my paint brush or pencil, seeing scenes as images and pondering over their colours and textures, however now I am learning to capture moments with my pen and I am loving the challenge!
I have even started my own Substack called Releasing Spells (link below), which I am very excited about. I have started to add my responses to Tanya's TCFS prompts and plan to add more in due course. I do not have any creative writing training at this stage although it is something that I would love to do in the future.
I am looking forward to connecting with more writers and can't thank Tanya enough for creating this space for us all.
Bright blessings
Tracey
xx
https://traceymayor.substack.com/
Tracey, you are such a generous member of this community - as you are in Hagitude. And it's a joy to receive and curate your words. I've just subscribed to your Substack in turn, and will enjoy following your work even once our year on Sharon's program is ended. xx
Ooh and I do subscribe to Sharon on here however I am not part of any of her programmes (unfortunately)🙏😊
I’m now needing to go look on Hagitude to see why I thought you were also on there! This does happen sometimes as people I talk with on here have different names & profile pics on other channels where I’m also connected to them! I may have been assuming a Tracey in Hagitude is also you writing here! Oh dear… xxx
You may well have seen a comment of mine in one of the other areas Tanya so it would be so easy to think it was me on the course too. 🙏 xxx
Thank you Tanya! I appreciate your kind words as always. 🙏
Hi Tracey - what a wonderful title for your substack!
Thank you Amanda! I hope to release healing spells in time, through my writings. This is a whole new area for me and very exciting!
Tracey x
Hi Tanya. I’m really new here I think someone must have linked me. Your book sounds fascinating I’ve popped it on my wish list. I love that quote on your website where you talk about listing things you love so I’ll do some of that here...
I’m Claire. I’m a creative and I live in Northumberland by the coast with my husband and two children who I love dearly.
We have pet chickens and a pond full of tadpoles and everything is just bursting into life in the garden which I always love about Spring here.
We can see the sea from our windows which is just such a beautiful thing. I sometimes forget to look because it’s in the distance but my heart knows the view in every type of weather.
I’m a creative, a writer, a mentor. I’ve spent my career supporting artists, working on funding bids and in cool and transformational projects and working abroad too.
It’s so lovely to be here and read everyone’s hellos!
Re Substack Notes yes I feel like Substack are really pushing the bigger accounts but I’m hopeful we can hear more voices and it’s used as both a marketing tool and a tool to share beautiful words and quotes - wouldn’t that be nice? 🗒️✨💡
Claire! A belated but very warm welcome! I've been saving this thread up as a treat for my first quiet morning, and it's a wonderful feeling to get a sense of where you and other subscribers are from, and where you are in your creative lives. Please don't feel you have to read my book before starting to write for the project - I designed it to be for anyone who wants to share short true stories on any or all of the themes. x
I can’t wait for you to read the book Claire, it’s stunning 😍
Oh I’m excited! 📕