A safe space for the hard stuff: Introducing the Family Chat 💬
A private space for us to converse and connect
Now that our first feature story has landed, I know many of you have been wrestling with the sheer weight of what we’ve discussed—the grief, the disorientation, and the hard truths about faith, deconstruction, and the rise of Christian nationalism.
Sharing these difficult experiences often leaves us feeling exposed, especially since so many of the religious and cultural spaces we came from didn’t know how to hold that complexity gently. They often default to surface-level answers or even judgment, minimizing the depth of pain and loss.
That’s why I’m adding something new and much-needed: the Blessed Are Those Who Mourn Family Chat.
This isn’t about quick takes or shallow agreement; it’s a dedicated conversation space, exclusively for subscribers, designed for genuine connection. Think of it as a small, protected gathering where we can finally put down our shields.
I know I don’t have to explain, but due to some trolling I have witnessed here on the platform, I am putting the chat behind a paywall to keep us all safe in our free and authentic conversation. So please upgrade to a monthly paid subscriber in order to access the chat.
Together, we will create space here for all the different perspectives that arise when faith systems fracture. I’ll share updates and questions that emerge from my reporting, and you can jump in to offer your own personal reflections, shared experiences, and hard-won wisdom.
This is your invitation to move past isolation and into authentic community—a place where we can actually mourn, process, and build something new together.
Ready to start the conversation? Join the Family Chat today and introduce yourself. I have a question already waiting for you when you get there.
How to get started
Get the Substack app by clicking this link or the button below. New chat threads won’t be sent sent via email, so turn on push notifications so you don’t miss conversation as it happens. You can also access chat on the web.
Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.
That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.