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...
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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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Deidre Braley
- Jan 6, 2023
- 5 min
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...
7 views0 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_90,enc_auto/50621e_aaec8e732935410da2151021eed6fb99~mv2.jpg)
Deidre Braley
- Oct 5, 2022
- 4 min
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...
24 views0 comments
Deidre Braley
- Oct 5, 2022
- 5 min
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...
20 views0 comments
Deidre Braley
- Aug 16, 2022
- 3 min
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...
80 views2 comments
Deidre Braley
- Aug 10, 2022
- 4 min
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,...
82 views0 comments
Deidre Braley
- Jul 19, 2022
- 3 min
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...
37 views0 comments
Deidre Braley
- Jul 12, 2022
- 3 min
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...
61 views0 comments
Deidre Braley
- Jun 29, 2022
- 3 min
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...
113 views0 comments
Deidre Braley
- Mar 27, 2022
- 2 min
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...
89 views0 comments
Deidre Braley
- Feb 24, 2022
- 2 min
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,...
109 views6 comments
Deidre Braley
- Jan 10, 2022
- 2 min
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...
74 views1 comment
Deidre Braley
- Jan 2, 2022
- 3 min
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...
247 views2 comments
Deidre Braley
- Sep 5, 2021
- 3 min
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...
106 views0 comments
Deidre Braley
- Jul 29, 2021
- 3 min
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...
88 views1 comment
Deidre Braley
- Jul 1, 2021
- 5 min
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...
734 views4 comments
Deidre Braley
- Jun 4, 2021
- 1 min
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...
40 views0 comments
Deidre Braley
- Apr 28, 2021
- 2 min
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...
797 views0 comments
Deidre Braley
- Feb 18, 2021
- 4 min
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...
171 views0 comments
Deidre Braley
- Jan 21, 2021
- 3 min
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...
173 views0 comments
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