Elderberries will turn 1 when I turn 61 this August. I’m investing time and attention this summer, while Harvard classes are out (because God knows who needs a vacation?), on how to nourish the baby and ensure she grows strong and healthy. I’ve discovered how much I like this kind of writing, and will devote more time to it in my next act. (It also gives me a welcome break from the book I’m supposed to be writing.)
I’ve been encouraged by a steadily increasing subscriber base, a flatteringly high ‘open rate’, and a wonderful course offered by Substack, my newsletter-hosting platform, and some of their new tools - like polling.
So, dear reader, please help me with a bit of feedback - and your ongoing support, belief and comments. All hugely appreciated. They make my Sundays special. Yours’ too, I hope.
Our first exercise was to try and define our reader. So here’s my attempt. What do you think? Does this resonate? (5 more questions below, less than 5 minutes of your time, promise - I hate surveys too).
My Imagined Reader
The hunter for the well-lived life. Seduced by the idea of maximising each of life’s 4 Quarters. Over educated Q3ers ready to recalibrate and Q2ers smart enough to prepare ahead. Curious about all forms of travel, intellectual as well as global, both inwards into self-awareness and outwards across cultures and differences. Reader of books, stats and news, hungry for the dopamine hit of the next, the new and the underlying. Carer of multiple others and the world, engaged in work they believe in, juggling with the portfolio their multiple passions toss up. Appreciating a Sunday breather with a soul sister to take it all in, digest deeply, and start again.
Subscribe before next Sunday June 3rd and you’ll receive a free copy of my latest e-book Thriving To 100 - Through Life’s 4 Quarters. Or gift a subscription to a friend, and you’ll both get a free copy.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, and for all your emails, empathy and encouragement over the past 10 months. See you on Sunday for another swig of the elderberries juice.
Hi Avivah, This is a bit awkward but I was trying to subscribe for your free edition and inadvertently subscribed to the yearly. Substack says I need to ask you to make the refund, so that's what I'm doing. Terribly sorry about that.