Allow me to introduce myself...

Good Evening Beautiful Human,

With so many new community members here, I thought it was time for me to re-introduce myself. So tonight I have a solidarity offering for you all — my mental illness story, in full.

Recording and editing this podcast took far longer than I anticipated — my whole weekend, in fact — but it is my hope that this podcast episode will serve as a lasting resource about my story and lived experiences with mental illness. 

Unlike the other podcasts, this one is entirely free to listen to for all subscribers. In advance of doing so, please note that this episode includes a discussion of suicide, self-harm, hallucinations, and sexual assault. As always, please choose your well-being first and foremost when deciding if this episode is for you.

I hope your weekend was restorative or at the very least, lived on your own terms. And now, with a little reminder from Doctor Waffle herself, we wish you a week.

Kindly,

Kate, Waffle and Tugboat

…whatever that mountain may be.

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The Healing Lab is an entirely reader-supported publication. Being a paid subscriber makes my work possible and allows me to maintain the integrity of this space with no ads. I am deeply grateful for your support. If you are able, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.

A paid subscription costs $6 a month or $60 a year.

• Access to Healing Out Loud

  Healing Out Loud is a gathering where we share our writing, art, and experiences with the monthly experiments. It is a place to find solidarity in the messy magic of healing. Healing Out Loud Together is hosted on Zoom. Everyone is welcome to share their stories. Of equal importance, though all are welcome to join — no one is required to share or even be on video during the session.

• One edition of long-form content that explores the month’s focus

  This will be a podcast episode, essay, or written interview with a guest contributor about how they navigate their own healing experience, especially during these hard times.

• Access to the archives including

  • Posts older than a month

  • Maura and Me — the memoir I serialized and wrote here over the course of the last year

  • Dogs are Medicine — personal essays about the dogs I’ve met and the healing they have so generously given me

  • Lines — my version of poetry — that explore recovery, resilience, and self-reclamation in a body and mind that society deems unacceptable