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Welcome to the Getting Better community

I’m so happy you’re here.

My writing is a direct response to the squeeze of digitalism and devices — a squeeze that makes me feel claustrophobic and heavy with a constant buzz of anxiety.

Getting Better is my call to re-engage with life. It is a pocket of slow groundedness that I crave whenever I’m in a busy (physical or head)space for a bit too long and start to feel disconnected from the world and from myself. It’s a space to visit neglected conversations and unspoken thoughts, and to carry them over into real life.

Writing is a form of contemplation for me. The more I write, the better I understand myself and the more questions I discover. This is a space full of both/and.

This is a space for questions to flow with ease.

I don’t write in search of answers. Instead, I’m constantly circling the truth. I find that writing holds me accountable in this pursuit of getting closer. It allows me to notice when I move farther away, my pen nudging me towards honesty.

All of my writing builds upon my foundation as a mother. I’m still new to the world of motherhood (my boy is almost one now!), and the day my little one was born my whole world turned right side up. I find it impossible to untangle any of my questions and reflections from my core identity as Mother, so you’ll find some overt pieces on motherhood as well as echoes of mothering in other, less directly linked writing.

Hi! I’m Miriam, the face behind Getting Better. Freshly showered & well fed is how I think and write best.

How can we build this community?

If you’re new here, subscribe for ~weekly personal reflections that can serve as a guide for your own contemplations that week.

All of my content is currently free. I’d love to build out a few community features (like in-person and virtual meet and talks) for paid members, but paid subscriptions right now are in honor of helping me structure this space for us :)

Beyond a paid subscription, the most meaningful support you can offer is engagement! I love to hear from you and for you all to hear from each other. If a post resonates, please let me know, or feel free to share whatever else is on your heart! I can almost guarantee your words will touch others who find the post with your comment.

Tell me about yourself. What do you love to do? How do you spend your life? What are you seeking right now?

À la

dad trying.

, here are 5 fragments of me in no particular order. I’d love to hear 5 of yours 🙂

1. I played piano almost every day from ages 3-18, competed at the state level, and still can’t read music. I feel like this must be some sort of “condition” (?) but have never looked into it. I learned every piece by copying my teacher’s strokes and I always wondered if she knew I couldn’t read the music (of course she did). I’d love to take lessons and play again some day.

2. My favorite author is David Sedaris. I tried to become him during a creative writing class in college. I recently dug up a short story I wrote from that time, and it’s a cringe-worthy parody of his style.

3. I was born with chronic, severe eczema and allergies, and have spent most of my life navigating these. In 2022, I could barely move my neck or arms for about 6 months as I went through topical steroid withdrawal. I’ve spent more of my brainpower than I care to admit on figuring out how to minimize eyeballs on my skin rashes.

4. I co-founded a venture-backed startup that served women from conception to pregnancy through postpartum. We shut our doors in December 2023 and I don’t think I’d ever take venture capital again (though I still believe in it as an incredible resource out there for some. Just not for me.).

5. I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and swore I would never move back after leaving for college in California. I moved back, of my own volition!, with my husband and dog in 2023 just before our son was born. I’ve fallen in love with St. Louis and am so grateful for my Midwest life.

Thank you for being here. I’m grateful for you!

So much love,

Miriam 🥰

P.S. This is another helpful intro to Getting Better, if you crave more :)