💥Important: Big Moves... New Address

Published 2 months ago • 1 min read

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 from and who you’re learning to live as now, I think this space might feel like coming home.

What does a bummer lamb have to do with this?

A friend recently sent me the story of the bummer lamb.
It’s the lamb who gets rejected by its mother. Left behind. Unwanted.
But if the shepherd finds it, they’ll take it in. Bottle-feed it. Hold it close.

And something extraordinary happens:
The bummer lamb grows up differently. It knows the shepherd’s voice.
It becomes the one who walks closest to the heart of the shepherd—because it had to be carried.

That story undid me.
Because I know what it’s like to be the one who had to be carried.
To feel like I didn’t quite fit the place I started from.
To bloom late. To find belonging in unexpected ways.

And that’s what this new space is about.
Not proving. Not polishing. Not waiting for someday.

Just writing. Honestly. Now.

Here's what you'll find:

- Thoughtful essays on healing, grief, and finding your voice (twice a month)

- Gentle prompts for your own reflection

- A deeper layer for those who want to sit closer to the creative fire Subscribe here (it's free)

I don’t know when I’ll return to this newsletter. But please know I haven’t disappeared.
I’m simply writing at a different pace, in a space that lets these words breathe.

Thank you for walking with me.

With tenderness and deep thanks,

Lisa Marie
Your blooming-late bestie

*****

Whenever you are ready, here's how I can help you:

Connect with me on Instagram and Threads
Join me on Substack 👉 Here

👉☀️ tiny Joys, long summers...

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...

11 days ago • 1 min read

Too old to start?

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...

3 months ago • 2 min read

Open to press play ▶️

I'm so paused. I'm not sure if that even makes sense but it sounds right. For the past few weeks, I've been off the grid. No newsletters. No posts. Just silence. Why? My mother-in-law passed away. And in order to grieve, to support my husband, and to show up for his family, I pressed pause. And at first, it felt strange. we treat stillness like a malfunction We live in a world that worships productivity. If you're not doing something, making something, documenting something, it's like you've...

4 months ago • 2 min read