Meet, Greet, and Find Out Why I Write This Substack
It's me! Hi! With a headshot from 2018!
Hi! Hello! Recovering fitness editor and Brooklyn mother of two under 5 here! I spent many years on staff at Women’s Health, and many more as senior health and fitness editor at Cosmo (RIP to the most fun and rewarding and f*cking hard, pinch-yourself job that I miss EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!).
There’s no question I worked my butt off to “make it” in real media: Whether I was pouring over edit tests, stalking editor-in-chiefs (IT WAS ONCE! And it worked!), or grinding through ridiculously long days of writing, editing, and editor-ing at press events and restaurant openings, I like to think I did make it. And then I grew up.
Fast forward some years: I sold my soul (and doubled my salary) for a ~leadership position~ heading up digital content and social media at Weight Watchers. I settled into married life with my husband (and first subscriber, ly) David, with whom I became a parent in relative isolation during the onset of the pandemic. As a new mom, I ~went freelance~ and started writing for parenting pubs like Scary Mommy, What To Expect, The Bump, VeryWell Family, Health, and Parents.
In the midst of all of this change—and my second pregnancy, so help me god—I took on all things content for the Catskills’ Hotel Lilien, which isn’t as random as it sounds since it was co-founded by David.
Now, after nearly five years of pretending I know how to raise humans, I feel more prepared than ever to pretend I know what I’m doing on an entirely new platform—aren’t you all glad you’re here?!
Whoa whoa, so why are you writing this?
At my core, I’m a young-ish mom struggling to make peace with just how much things have changed for both me and the media industry since yesteryear, *flashes back to sipping champagne on the evening I published the most viral article Hearst Digital had ever seen.* While editors still pay me to write stuff as a freelancer, their budgets are abysmal or dwindling. AI is one click away from eliminating whatever SEO work is left.
And now that motherhood and maturity have helped me realize that there are more important things than like, eliminating cellulite, I can’t go back to telling women how to target belly fat, an article I’ve written way too many times/ politely declined to write just last week. *rolls eyes*
With two young kids that I happen to love being around, I can’t go back to working a 9-5 media job that really requires 5-9. I can’t do more freelance work for less money when I have more experience and less time both in the day and on this Earth. (Shut the lights, it’s getting daaaaaark in hereeeeeee!) And after getting a taste of working for a ~family business~ where my every effort has the potential to directly impact my children’s futures, I don’t want to give away my best ideas to benefit Big Media, anymore. They’re mine, all mine!
But these are my problems, not yours. Lucky for you: As my life unfolds, I have more story ideas than ever about parenting, identity, relationships, body image, beauty, fitness, and even fashion (although I use that term loosely). Plus? I have a writing voice that readers have confirmed—tyvvm!!! honestly blushing!!!—that they like to hear.
So when Jeff Waldman, a friend with the wonderful and seemingly effortless Substack
, suggested I should write a Substack of my own, I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it sooner—especially considering how much I’ve been influenced by some of my very favorite Substack writers like (who I was so starstruck to interview for Scary Mommy!), (I discovered her on NYE a few years back at a mutual friend’s dinner party. She cooked, it was delicious!), and (I’ve never met her but would like to, considering she’s a fellow media person/mom, Brooklyn neighbor, *and* upstate neighbor). And I’m so inspired to see so many writers—like my former boss —find both independence and success here.I am and always have been a content creator, too. So…welcome to my new medium, my third baby (or my fourth if you count the hotel).
What this newsletter is about
Body-shaming? Mom shaming? Perfect marriages? Perfect meals? N-O-P-E. None of that here. Instead, I’ll choose topics that you—young moms, old moms, girl moms, boy moms, “they” moms, my mom, working moms, SAH moms, friends, lovers, and probably, like, one progressive dad—care about. I’ll report and write them in a way that definitely makes you nod, maybe makes you laugh, and never makes you feel worse about your mind, body, or parenting. Here’s the kind of stuff you can expect about once a week in your inbox:
Expert interviews
IMHO, some of the best ideas I’ve pitched to and written for Real Publications have stemmed from actual questions I was genuinely excited to ask an expert—like, are Crocs actually terrible for kids’ feet, and is it more cost-effective to buy or rent everyday clothes, why is my kid is obsessed with bad guys, or how do moms with 7 kids…survive?! Here, I’ll track down a reliable source and ask the random question I've been thinking about—because I’m pretty sure you’ve been wondering about the answer, too.
Informed essays
Was I diagnosed with the postpartum trifecta of anxiety, depression, and OCD after birthing my second child? Yes. Did I follow a restrictive diet and maintain a ridiculous commitment to daily workouts for over a decade? Also yes. (I mean, I was a fitness editor…) Here, we’ll explore all issues related to body image, perfectionism, and postpartum mood disorders…oh, and how not to fuck up your kids if you’re a lil’ bit fucked up yourself. (Cause who’s not?!)
Reviews ‘n round-ups
Big brands have long paid me to write reviews of the darnedest things for good reason, in hindsight: Thanks to a lilllll bit of lingering OCD (really, but I’m fine!), and can't think of an item I love without caveat—the nuance! Perfectionism x consumerism x parenthood, here we come with critical product and service reviews. Note to David: I promise not to fill our apartment with booster seats and travel high chairs ever EVER again :)
ICYMIs
I’ve written thouuuuusands of articles for mainstream media, *brushes shoulders off.* Here, I’ll resurface both ye ol’ links and recently published ones, then serve them up with a side of contemporary or BTS commentary. Plus: A couple really good pieces that never saw the light of day…like the career piece that was assigned by, then subsequently killed by Refinery29—the drama!
A lil’ more!
Whether it’s one more thing to read, share, buy, or relate to, you’ll find a little extra at the end of every newsletter. Who doesn’t love a bonus!
PLUS: Whatever other essays, franchises, or features I receive requests for/ simply decide to write, you’re welcome.
SO: If you've ever read an article I’ve written* and said, "hey, she's not so bad!"* subscribe and see if I've still got it. (I do!)
Thank you for being here!
<3 Liz
*Some recent-ish articles I’ve written that might have made you say “hey, she’s not so bad!”
A Viable Scientific Theory for Why Kids Live on Carbs
What the Sex Therapist You Can’t Afford Tells Couples Who Aren’t Having Sex
I Accidentally Demonized Dessert for My Kid. Now What?
Can We Stop Talking About Botox in Front of Our Kids?