The Open Draft is my weekly letter about healing, memory, and reclaiming your voice. Each post is a raw, evolving draft that invites reflection and real connection. Subscribe to join me every Saturday. No noise, no polish—just truth in motion.
Coffee catch-ups, colour-coded calendars, and chaos: A January Story
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Ooh I love it in here! If your inbox looks anything like January has felt, I’m extra grateful you’ve opened this little love note today. What. A. Month. You know that ex-colleague who somehow stretches a quick coffee catch-up into a three-hour saga? That’s January for you – making sure we felt every single one of its 31 days. 2025 didn’t just knock on our door – it kicked it down. While we were still debating “Dry January,” the world threw us curveballs left and right. (And don’t even get me started on that TikTok drama.) And me? Oh, I had my own flavour of chaos cooking. My Type-A, carrot-up-your-arse personality went into overdrive. I colour-coded every breathing moment of January. Meditation? Scheduled. Walking? Timed. Even my bathroom breaks probably had a productivity metric. (I’m only half-joking.) Then my husband caught me in this frenzy. There I was, on our emerald sofa, when he dropped this line: “You didn’t leave your 9-5 to burn out at home.” (And no, this intervention wasn’t in my calendar 😂) I was scheduling myself into oblivion trying to stay “productive.” By June, I would’ve been KAPOT. (It’s Dutch, and even if you don’t know exactly what it means, you just get it, right?) So I did something radical for a recovering perfectionist like me: I created SPACE. As Justin Welsh says, “The real definition of wealth is having the freedom to think and live with clarity and intention.” And damn, did that freedom feel like a superpower when I finally claimed it. When I let white space into my colour-coded calendar, magic happened. My thoughts weren’t just flowing – they were dancing. Ideas didn’t just come; they poured like warm syrup on a Sunday morning. (Read more on the blog) And somewhere between letting go and letting be, everything aligned with my vision. I have a feeling 2025 is only going to get more Faster and Furiosa (Mad Max reference – and yes, you should watch it 😉). But this time, I’m ready to ride the chaos with space to breathe. Need help creating your own breathing room and turning it into sustainable success? Let’s talk. Book a 1:1 call with me, and we’ll map out your path together.
Out here watching you BLOOM, yes you 😉 Lisa Marie ***** Love this email? Forward this to a friend so they can get in on the action and sign up below
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The Open Draft
The Open Draft is my weekly letter about healing, memory, and reclaiming your voice. Each post is a raw, evolving draft that invites reflection and real connection. Subscribe to join me every Saturday. No noise, no polish—just truth in motion.
Somewhere between seven and sorrow, we moved to Big Bend—a sugar mill town where the air smelled like ash and summer fizzed like Coca Cola. I must’ve been seven or eight. My parents had just divorced. My father worked at the Sugar Mill, and the village was filled with expats, heat, and a country club with tennis courts and a high school I was too young for. What I remember most is this:In June, they burned the sugar cane.Black snow would rain from the sky.Ash floating, weightless, like...
I've been quiet here, but not because I've stopped writing. Truth is, I've needed a space that lets me move more slowly. Where the stories didn’t need to be polished—only honest.Where I could write from the raw edge of memory and meaning. That space is The Open Draft my new publication on Substack. It’s where I’m writing essays that live closer to the bone, mirroring the work I’m doing on my book. If you’ve ever felt alone in your healing journey, or longed to make sense of where you come...
I'm too old. How many times have you said that? How many dreams have you buried under that excuse? Maybe you've thought about switching careers, learning a new skill, or starting something completely different. But then the voice creeps in: You should have done this years ago. It's too late now. It's not. And I have proof. the real stories that say otherwise I've been collecting comments from people just like you. People who thought they were "too old" to start again—but did it anyway. They...