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My latest writing lives on Substack now.
I love using Substack because it makes it easier to talk with you every week — it allows you to comment and participate in community threads and send me direct emails, and it feels more like a back-and-forth conversation over flaky croissants than a 'newsletter'. (And good conversation and croissants is definitely the vibe here at The Second Cup.)
So enjoy the archives below, but if you want to read my latest poems and essay on making peace with being human, you'll find them on Substack!
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A Thousand Masks and Zero Friends
Ever heard the song A Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash? It was a favorite in my household growing up [we had it on vinyl] and I remember...
Deidre Braley
Jan 6, 20235 min read
23 views
0 comments
Is A Well-Balanced Day Even A Thing?
What’s happening in real time: My fingertips are hovering over these keys, and my brain almost has a poignant thought to share with you...
Deidre Braley
Jan 6, 20235 min read
17 views
0 comments
![I Want You Back: How Choosing Community [Despite the Hassle] Will Save Our Lives](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/50621e_aaec8e732935410da2151021eed6fb99~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1080,h_811,fp_0.50_0.50,q_30,blur_30,enc_avif,quality_auto/50621e_aaec8e732935410da2151021eed6fb99~mv2.jpg)
![I Want You Back: How Choosing Community [Despite the Hassle] Will Save Our Lives](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/50621e_aaec8e732935410da2151021eed6fb99~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1080,h_811,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/50621e_aaec8e732935410da2151021eed6fb99~mv2.jpg)
I Want You Back: How Choosing Community [Despite the Hassle] Will Save Our Lives
Have you ever heard of Pia Farrenkopf? I hadn’t either, until our pastor told us about her on Sunday. Pia was a middle-aged woman living...
Deidre Braley
Oct 5, 20224 min read
27 views
0 comments
5 Things I Learned After One Week of Self-Employment
{Spoiler Alert: It's my dream job but it wasn't all a dream.} “That’s not your school anymore, Mommy,” my three-year-old reminded me as...
Deidre Braley
Oct 5, 20225 min read
22 views
0 comments
I Only Swore Once! (And Other Wins)
I mommed hard this morning. Wet sheets from the night. Wet three-year-old. Two hangry children and only one measly waffle left in the...
Deidre Braley
Aug 16, 20223 min read
84 views
2 comments
God, Don't Make Me
I made it through about three episodes of 1883, and I watched every one of them in complete horror. If you're not familiar with the show,...
Deidre Braley
Aug 10, 20224 min read
82 views
0 comments
I Wasted Time Today
I wasted time today. Here's how: My kids went to daycare, and I made the conscious decision to accomplish nothing. I made no money (but I...
Deidre Braley
Jul 19, 20223 min read
38 views
0 comments
Not That Kind of Girl
One day, I stopped swimming in the ocean. I don't know the exact day. All I know is that at some point I decided I'd rather keep my hair...
Deidre Braley
Jul 12, 20223 min read
62 views
0 comments
God is Not A Social Media Post
Man, our culture has such a complicated relationship with God. There's all this commentary on what he is and what he isn't, what he...
Deidre Braley
Jun 29, 20223 min read
115 views
0 comments
The Thrill of Abundance (In a Scarce-Minded World)
What's new and inspiring to you these days? I ask because I am tiptoeing the line between apathy and hope, and I'd really like to embrace...
Deidre Braley
Mar 27, 20222 min read
89 views
0 comments
Self-Pity is Chocolate Cake
Self-pity is so delicious. I find it's my favorite spiral. It allows me to count all the ways I have been wronged and treated unjustly,...
Deidre Braley
Feb 24, 20222 min read
109 views
6 comments
Enough Grief, Let's Do Grandeur
I think it's safe to say we've all dealt with some crap this year. There's the everyday stuff - the worldwide pandemic, the projected...
Deidre Braley
Jan 10, 20222 min read
74 views
1 comment
If You Really Wanna Shake Stuff Up This Year, Pray This.
There are 8 billion different realities alive and well in our world today. It struck me suddenly the other day, this realization that all...
Deidre Braley
Jan 2, 20223 min read
247 views
2 comments
When It's Too Dark in Our Room (And Our Room is This World)
Our son Theo has begun to feel scared of the dark lately. Before going into his room alone, even in broad daylight, he'll yell down the...
Deidre Braley
Sep 5, 20213 min read
107 views
0 comments
That Craving You Just Can't Place
Have you ever had a craving that you just can't place? That happened to me the other night. We had just said goodbye to a house full of...
Deidre Braley
Jul 29, 20213 min read
89 views
1 comment
Death is Not a Four-Letter Word (So Let's Talk About It)
Putting the word ‘death’ in an opening line isn’t usually a good way to start, because people think of it as more of an ending. But death...
Deidre Braley
Jul 1, 20215 min read
734 views
4 comments
Essentials
I'm rebelling. Exhaustion and the weary walk say there are no leftovers. That Pen to paper, body to floor, Heart to heart - There is no...
Deidre Braley
Jun 4, 20211 min read
40 views
0 comments
The Territory of Hard Truths
There comes a time in all of our lives when reality takes a turn. It happens when the doctor says there is nothing more to be done, or...
Deidre Braley
Apr 28, 20212 min read
798 views
0 comments
Getting Back to God: The Third and Final Part of The Wandering Ones Series
The wind was whipping so loud in my ears that I couldn't hear anyone around me, even when they shouted. Rain spilt over the top of my...
Deidre Braley
Feb 18, 20214 min read
172 views
0 comments
The Wandering Ones Series: Mute, Blind, and Uninspired - Part 2
God struck me mute last week. I had just broadcast my plans to launch this new blog series, The Wandering Ones, all over social media. I...
Deidre Braley
Jan 21, 20213 min read
173 views
0 comments
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