Introducing: Hey Eleanor! 2.0 on Substack

Me, a lot younger with almost zero responsibilities, jumping out of a plane.

In 2013, I launched Hey Eleanor, a blog chronicling a year doing one thing every day that scared me.

I did it all— stand-up comedy, SCUBA diving, shopping at Costco on a Saturday. The first year flew by, and I just kept going. Three years later, I was getting tens of thousands of visitors monthly, and even had a post go super viral. I felt like snuggling up behind Kate Winslet and shouting, “I’m the king of the world!”

And then I had a baby.

I hoped to keep up with Hey Eleanor, but motherhood hit me like Muhammad Ali. Not only did I spend hours feeding a person with my actual body, a cloud of postpartum gloom smogged up my world. And unlike Los Angeles, it didn’t just burn off with the afternoon sun. I couldn’t find the energy, focus, or drive to maintain this thing I did mostly for free and for fun.

I let my proverbial Jack slip away into the chilly arctic waters. I said I’d never let go, but I did, and now I’m wondering how many Titanic references can I include in this post.

Sorry, Jack. I let go.

Last week, I sent out a newsletter for the first time in a year. I always ask people to respond to my emails if they feel compelled— I love reading them. I heard from so many people, including complete strangers, who said they were thrilled to see my name pop up in their inbox. Thrilled to see my email! I couldn’t believe it. When was the last time I was thrilled to see anything in my inbox?!

One woman told me she’d followed Hey Eleanor from the beginning and that my message last week inspired her. She said she misses Hey Eleanor.

Well, crap. I realized I miss it, too.

So, after hardly any thought at all, I decided I’m doing a Hey Eleanor reboot.

I made this with AI! Everybody panic!

I’ve chosen to host it on Substack. Subscribing to Hey Eleanor on Substack is free, with the option of paying for a monthly or annual subscription if you’d like. Currently, I don’t have paywalls on my posts.

You can read more about why I’ve decided now is the time to revisit Hey Eleanor, and why I’ve chosen Substack, here.

Thanks to everyone who’s shown love for my writing and this project over the years— it like a Kon Marie party in my heart, which is just a millennial’s way of saying it makes me happy.