5 Substack Writers You Really Should Know: Writing on neurodivergence, creativity, culture, art, selfcare, recovery, culture, books, art and more ...
A celebration of writers you may not know yet here who are doing inspiring things in unique ways and also happen to be friends of mine
What I’m doing here on Substack is creating an online library of resources related to the complex relationship between art and mental health including essays and interviews written from lived experience as well as historic and contemporary research.
The people who subscribe do so because they believe in the critical importance of building this library and the community around it. They believe in the work.
And today, I wanted to introduce you to some of those people. Because they aren’t just amazing humans but some of them are also terrific writers. So, let me tell you a little bit more about 5 writers here on Substack that you might want to get to know and why. I’ll share who they are, how we’ve connected, what’s awesome about them, and a few of my favorite posts that they’ve written.
Today meet: Allegra Chapman , Amy Nemirow , Angie, Cams Campbell, and david roberts
I explore how art and health intersect. If you are interested in understanding this in your own life: Order a Creative Health Assessment or Book a 1:1 Coaching Call.
Allegra Chapman of I Am Happy
If you’ve been here at Create Me Free for a while then you might already know Allegra. She wrote a great guest post here for me not too long ago (through which I learned the color of my name in her mind among other things …)
Happiness is yellow: why neurodivergence can drive creativity - Guest Post by Allegra Chapman
Creativity can be a powerful tool for neurodivergent individuals to navigate a world that often fails to recognize their diverse perspectives, providing a platform for authentic self-expression.
That guest post came out of a conversation that we had after she wrote a piece on creativity and neurodivergence which I had highlighted here as to how it resonated for me as someone who lives with double depression.
Allegra also participated in my virtual book tour for The Artist’s Mind, allowing me to guest post on exploring the connection between art and mental health.
In her own work, Allegra is exploring creativity and taking a “look at how the seasons and natural cycles impact our emotions, and how we can use creativity to tune into our own emotional needs.” Check out her creative sparks posts for inspiration on adding more creativity into your own life. She has also recently launched Full Moon Tales, described as “Original folk tale-style stories to enjoy by a fire under a full moon.”
A few of her posts that I especially love:
Special shoutout to Wendi Gordon who I mentioned back in August had shared that she found inspiration in the work of Allegra Chapman after I shared it in one of my newsletters.
Amy Nemirow of Feed The Fire.
From Amy’s about page:
“I make art. Then I write about making art and what that means to me, from the perspective of a psychologist who does not make a living as an artist (not yet, anyway). I use torches to make jewelry: lampwork glass beads and components, soldered and fused metals, and torch-fired enamels, all require that flame to burn brightly. The flame needs fuel and oxygen. And my art nurtures my soul — feeds my passion, if you will. How do I keep all those fires burning? I have lots of ideas about that. Here is where I share them.”
And I love that. But what I love even more is the first paragraph of her intro post here on Substack:
“I’m not sure if I’m doing this because I think I have a unique perspective and want to share it with the world, or if, as I’ve come to suspect, what I’m really looking for is to find others who are in a similar situation and feel connected. If I’m being honest, I’m really hoping that this thing goes out into the ether and finds you, a reader, and you recognize some small part of it, and you feel seen too, and you let me know, and that’s how we find and build our community. So here goes.”
Because that really resonates with me. I write from a place where I believe it is my job to do the work that I feel meant to do and then release it into the world and it will find the people meant to find it in the time that’s meant to happen while I go on making the new things.
Within her posts, Amy also shares beautiful images of some of her jewelry. And occasionally other fun things like her two Frenchies.
A couple of Amy’s posts that I especially love:
Angie of Angie’s Substack
I am actually just beginning to get to know Angie and her work. One of the things about paying to subscribe to someone’s Substack is that it puts you on their radar and they get curious about you. At least I do. I am grateful for each one of the people who subscribe to support me and I want to know more about them. I want to know what they do so that I can tell other people about what they do because I believe in mutual support.
Angie’s Substack bio says:
“I am Angie Clay, a self-care advocate and the creative hands and heart behind a self-care business called Liberate and Lather. I’m a notebook and paper junkie, bargain shopping enthusiast.”
And the description for her Substack says:
“Discovering a world where caring for an aging parent, reigniting forgotten dreams, and entrepreneurial spirit intertwine with expressive arts and journaling, all shared with style and grace.”
How could I not want to explore more?
So here are a couple of posts of Angie’s I’ve discovered I love so far:
Cams Campbell of Taking Personal Inventory
I’ve started getting to know Cams Campbell because of the thoughtful comments he has left for me. Substack really is about finding your people and having relationships conversations with them. Or at least it can be.
Cams’ Substack description reads:
“I'm a recovering alcoholic on a Scottish island. I share ways in which I improve my mental health and keep depression at bay.”
And the bio here reads:
“I'm striving to be the best version of myself and find that making videos and writing are good ways of getting closer to that. I love music, guitars, fountain pens and walking on the Isle of Arran where I live.”
What I love about Cams’ writing is that he looks inward and gets really honest with himself and figures out what he could do better to have the kind of life he wants to have and shares it with us. Another person’s truths aren’t always going to work for everyone - but sometimes they work for someone, and that’s what is so important about putting our truths out there.
Something honest from his about page:
“I started documenting my journey into sobriety a few years ago, but I was never consistent with it. If I was feeling confident and upbeat, I'd create. If I wasn’t, I wouldn't. The problems that plague all creators—creative blocks, self-doubt, low self-esteem, impostor syndrome—would all lead to my self-harming through means other than alcohol. I was destroying relationships through being unkind and selfish, bingeing TV shows, judging everyone, ignoring my family, and, the most harmful of all, sugar. As a person with diabetes, this was a big one, and it’s still my biggest challenge.”
And a couple other pieces of Cams’ I really like:
The latter is from his Morning Pages which he shares.
david roberts of Sparks from Culture by David Roberts
One of my favorite pieces from David is one that I shared in a Friday digest back in September called My Childhood Loneliness Haunts Me. Part of what I said about it then:
This is a powerful piece not just discussing what loneliness is and where it comes from but relating it to a novella by Saul Bellow. This way of looking through a character at a universal truth adds to the piece and ironically reminds us that we are not alone.
That ability to make the personal universal is something that I like about David’s writing.
Who is David Roberts? He explains on his “about” page:
“I’m 61 years old. I had a forty year career in finance and now devote myself to reading, writing, and thinking.
I bring the perspective of my career, my decades of reading (and re-reading), and my observations about family dynamics. Married 38 years, three adult children (two married,) one grandchild, and one Shih Tzu named Sophie.
Lifelong resident of Manhattan.”
And what he writes about:
“Sparks From Culture is dedicated to deeply personal takes on books, culture, and the human experience. From Primo Levi and forgiveness to the childhood scars left by parents' comments to what Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class can show us about how the very wealthy live today.”
Some other posts from David I’ve enjoyed:
I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting these five terrific Substack writers.
If you’re curious, my about page word cloud looks like:
Oh wow, thank you so much, Kathryn! And wonderful to be mentioned in such fantastic company.
The word clouds are so fun- I used to make these on otter. ✨