For the first half of 2025 (as always), I've been using this platform to investigate the cornerstones of my creative life. I've loved using memoir, interview, and storytelling to explore the existential intimacies of culture-making. And what I love most about all this is — well, it's in the name of the newsletter: I make things in order to learn about myself and others.
What better next step to take in this journey than recording a podcast?
Last month, I shared a short story titled "to market, to market: a parable on minding my business." It was inspired in part by this YouTube video on the sacredness of the marketplace in Igbo cosmology (shouts out to The Medicine Shell). Nearly everything I share in my newsletter reflects an urgent concern in my personal and creative life, even if it isn't always obvious. These days I'm realizing just how difficult it's been for me to let others in on my story, whether because I think it's too obscure, too weird, or too embarrassing.
But literally, in this economy, I can no longer afford to play coy. These days, I'm feeling the pressure of having tried to live a normal life, or forge a normal career. Maybe it's no surprise that I'm neurodivergent, but this feels less like a label and more like a lived fact as time presses on. I'm actively in the process of building a life that allows me to advocate for myself, and to feel like I have the ability to thrive, both on my own and with others.
Conversation is a crucial part of this journey. Letting others in on my story, my struggles, my successes, is like breathing. It helps me remember that so many challenges are shared, and can only be fought collectively — even as we practice individually.
So this month, I sat down to talk with Jasolyn Harris (she/they) and Uchechi Kalu (she/her), two friends and peers with ample personal and professional experience with financial trauma. Jasolyn is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, minister, theologian, and spiritual practitioner; they specialize in working with QTBIPOC folks who are getting free from religious trauma. Uchechi is a Certified Financial Planner who works specifically with first-gen Americans and women of color. Both Jasolyn and Uchechi are currently based in Los Angeles, CA (like yours truly!).
I recorded these conversations separately, but because the resonances between them are so exciting and delightful, I've decided to weave the conversations together. You'll hear occasional interjections from me, but otherwise, I've let Jasolyn and Uchechi's words stand on their own. I learned so much as someone who's facing down over $100K in debt, including student loans and credit cards.
Content note: as you might imagine, this recording contains mentions of religious and financial trauma.
You can find Jasolyn on IG @jazziepleaze; visit their Psychology Today profile to learn more about their clinical practice. You can find Uchechi on IG @dearuchechi; visit her website to learn more about her individual and group coaching services.
Share this post