Building the Table Together
On referrals, recognition, and the sacred work of connection
Something beautiful has been happening in my inbox.
People have been forwarding these essays to friends with notes like "this helped me name what I've been feeling" and "you need to read this." Screenshots of paragraphs appear in group chats. Links get shared with the kind of care usually reserved for family recipes or the location of a really good therapist.
You've been building community without me asking for it. Creating bridges I couldn't construct alone. Practicing the ancient art of saying "this matters" and meaning it.
I want to honor that work. Not with the hollow metrics of viral culture, but with something real—expanded access to the words that have been feeding you, so they can keep feeding you while you continue to feed others.
Here's how it works:
When you share your personal referral link (found below), each person who subscribes becomes part of something larger than individual reading. They become part of the conversation, the community, the collective exhale of people who refuse to pretend everything is fine when it isn't.
And because reciprocity matters:
→ 5 friends join: You receive 1 month of full access
→ 10 friends join: You receive 3 months of full access
→ 25 friends join: You receive 6 months of full access
But let's be honest about what's really happening here. This isn't about rewards—it's about recognition. Recognition that every time you share this work, you're making a choice. You're choosing connection over protection, community over isolation, vulnerability over safety.
You're choosing to be part of the infrastructure of care this world desperately needs.
The numbers matter less than what they represent: people finding each other, finding language for experiences they thought they had to carry alone, finding proof that they're not losing their minds in a world designed to make them think they are.
This is how healing happens. Not in isolation, but in community. Not through individual consumption, but through collective nourishment.
Thank you for understanding that the best way to honor something that feeds you is to make sure others can feast too.
To learn more, check out Substack’s FAQ.