Start here to find out where we’re going, how, and why the heck.
Hi, I’m Bree, and I’m really, truly, thrilled we’re both here.
I’m here because I love stories; telling them, sharing them, reading them. Absorbing them into my mind, heart and gut, letting them twist about as they put themselves to the best kind of use—creating human connection.
Connection to both our own experience and to the experiences of others, in ways common and completely unique.
I’m pretty sure you’re here for more or less the same thing, with maybe some cravings for a little laughter or inspiration, to learn a thing or two… have a good cry, get fired up.
Substack is indeed a pretty special corner of the internet currently, a place for all these things and more, and I’ll be doing my very best to contribute to it’s continued loveliness for as long as it lasts.
Most of us are feeling it, some of us deeply and daily—the existential chaos that is post-pandemic, very clearly 21st century life. That is, too much of everything. Violence, choice, temptation, addiction, conflict, comfort, abundance, lack. All the things.
A sustained cultural clobbering, at all hours and from all directions.
What we’re finding and cultivating on this platform feels like a rebellion of sorts, against many of those external forces we feel hijacked by but also powerless to, and toward the authentic togetherness we crave.
Welcome then to my modest, but dedicated, voice in the growing crowd of rebels and rousers.
Here’s me:
I’m a mom and stepmom to three tremendous boy-humans (ages 6, 11 and 14 as of this writing) and wife to a man I’ve known since we were both teenagers but didn’t marry until we were in our 40s.
I’m a very proud multi-hyphenate (the word nerd me absolutely delights in the hilarity of such a thing), having spent my working life thus far feasting my way through a wild smorgasbord of industries—filmmaking to Michelin-starred restaurant-ing to cult wine marketing to start-up consulting to… phew… purpose and leadership coaching.
That’s a lot of ‘ings, and I’m absolutely not at all done.
What’s stuck with me all along, apace and impossible to shake? Writing. My constant companion and critic, keeping me curious, reflective, honest and aware.
I’m not (yet!) a published writer, like many of the supremely talented folk on this platform. I am however – just as anyone who writes, for themselves or others – supremely devoted to the unearthly magic that is the written word.
What you’ll find here:
My perspective and observations as a human with her own particular brand of curiosity and optimism
Writing that bears witness to my penchant for awe, and what’s a nearly equal penchant for productivity
Actionable ideas for living life with deeper intent and happiness, with help from neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, quantum physics, and behavioral science
Inspiration for moving out and away from the seemingly suffocating pressures of The Now, and into (what I believe to be…) a tremendous era of cultural evolution and innovation
And, what I hope will read as a contagious passion for art & design, music, history, nature, politics & culture… aw, fuck it… let’s just say, LIFE.
In addition to my many years of professional leapfrogging, I’ve also been through some decent tests & trials, as a survivor of both intimate partner abuse and breast cancer (twice). Like so many, I write to process and understand these things, but I also feel a deep need, a responsibility really, to share what I’ve collected over these peaks and valleys.
What I want to cultivate here is a journey on which we’re all both companions AND leaders.
We can connect, we can band together, we can Caravan… toward our collective future destination, bright and fertile, with room and resource for all.
Bree Stilwell 