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Alice's avatar

Hi T, I just wanted to say, each week I look forward to reading your newsletters. Not only do they make me laugh and smile and leave me with joy, they often remind me about what it means to be human. To be messy, to not have it all figured out, to not be perfect, and that doing your best is more than OK. It's like reading a message from a friend every week who gives me a nugget of wisdom to chew on. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself and showing us, it's wonderful to see relatable people online.

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Tara Schuster's avatar

Alice, this is SO kind and eloquently said. I keep an "impact journal" so that when I doubt myself I can look to what YOU actually think of me and my work. You are making the impact journal this week! Thank you again for being here and I'm so delighted to know you look forward to the newsletter! I feel like that's a major victory - to look forward to an email :) haha

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Kiana's avatar

Hi Tara! Wow, you've written your life purpose statement so beautifully. That is such a brave, mindful, and authentic thing to do! Writing a life purpose statement reminds me of "Stand" writing exercise in Mark Divine's book "The Way of the SEAL." It's about writing what you stand for. It's about focusing on your values, and letting the outcomes take the shape they will.

Thank you for sharing!

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Tara Schuster's avatar

Ohhhhhh I LOVE that. "Stand." And YES - exactly, focus on the bigger picture and your values and let outcomes flow from there. Thank you for being here :)

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Barbara Edelman's avatar

I think the world we woke up in the morning after the election is not the world any of us know how to navigate. People are terrified. They are losing their jobs, or someone in their family or friend circle is. The rule of law is fracturing, babies are being deported, prices are going up, it is no longer safe to fly on a plane, our fragile healthcare system is being run by a man who does not believe in health care or science but in heroin usage and cold showers. Lgbtq people are terrified. People of color ditto. Women are actually worrying that they may lose the right to vote, and our world is literally and metaphorically on fire. (I speak as one who’s town burned to the ground 4 months ago.). This is the world we are navigating at the moment. It is not a world where we have the luxury of self realization. We are all sad and scared—for ourselves, our friends, our way of life and our planet. I do actually think there is a great need for a self care book right now—but it is a book that is grounded in the reality of where we are. Self care in Gaza in 2025 looks a hell of a lot different than self care in Manhattan circa 2008. I do not pretend to know what that book should be, but I think it is about how do I repair this broken world and how do I strengthen and support the good in all of us. How do I strengthen the well of kindness in our society. How do I not get lost in demonizing others? How do I keep myself and those i love safe? How do I put out the fire raging inside and around all of us? I say this as a total self help junkie and a lifelong inner world explorer who really was helped by your prior work. For me, it feels like the questions you want this third book to answer are not the ones I wake in the middle of the night seeking answers to.

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Tara Schuster's avatar

These are wonderful questions to ask - and I agree - self-care looks different at society faces different issues...and...the basics are the same "value your life," "gratitude to be alive..." I have a lot of readers in Ukraine and as they have gone through unimaginable horror, it's interesting to me that they still cite Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies as something helpful to them. Maybe sometimes what we really need is HOPE, the suggestion that things can get better and small tools to make it so? Anyways, really appreciate your thoughtful questions.

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jen johnson's avatar

Love you, T Money 🤗

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Tara Schuster's avatar

And I love you J$ ☺️

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