Welcome to Being

Personal essays, poetry, and conversations by Rachael Hope about being who we are, where we are, how we are, and letting go of the things that keep us from ourselves.

Hi! If you know me, I’m glad you’re here. If you don’t, I’m looking forward to getting to know you. My name is Rachael, and I never thought I’d be a witch, but here we are. So far, it feels a bit like an amalgamation of Professor Trelawny, Bilquis ala American Gods, and maybe a Maenad; with a little bit of Sansa Stark and some Morgan Le Fay for good measure? I feel expansive, like a mushroom under ground. My religion is human connection, and my denomination is somewhere between love and lust.

About to plunge into the Salish Sea - Write Doe Bay - Oct 2022

I went to a medium a few years ago and she told me that in a past life I was an energy healer. I think I might still be. Human intimacy, true connection, sexual or otherwise, can be incredibly restorative. If you're vulnerable with me, I'll spread the salve of love without limits on your broken parts.

Practically, I’m a middle-aged writer, mom, and cinnamon-roll enthusiast living in Washington State. I have two teen sons and two horrible cats (all cats are horrible). I’m feeling my way through endings and beginnings. I have a 9-5 that pays the bills, but writing is it for me. I was born for this.

My life's journey is to contribute to the collective joy of humanity, to cultivate openness and acceptance, and encourage embracing, caring for, and healing the parts of us that have been broken. I strives to help guide people out of darkness and to create kindness, safe spaces, and landing spots for vulnerability and exploration of the human condition. My quest for knowledge and magic is ongoing, and I am continually seeking knowledge, and propagating an openness towards growth, expansion, and potential.

2022 has been a year of immense growth and change, and I’m making an intentional effort to focus again on writing, and being who I was meant to be.

Why Substack?

I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember. I have a shelf in my house lined with journals in chronological order, spanning my life from age 10 to 25. I have blog archives that overlap, ghost-written articles in corners of the web, movie reviews, high school newspaper articles, binders of poetry and prose, and in 2019 I started publishing my essays and poetry on Medium.

Medium was great for giving me a built-in audience and a place where my work could be distributed. I was getting paid significantly (nothing crazy, but enough to cover my car payments for a while!) for my writing and connecting with people. But that was 2019 Medium. Since then, algorithms have changed, views and earnings and distribution have changed, and all that is fine, but with it something else has changed - community.

My favorite part of writing is connecting with people in that deep-down, heart filling way that makes us all feel less alone.  Inspiring people to use their voice or gain the confidence they need to pursue the life they deserve is the most rewarding thing I can imagine.

I miss you. I miss interacting with my readers, and the conversations that ensue. So, I’m trying something new. My writing focuses on living as a sex-positive person and parent, body acceptance, what it's like living as a rad fatty, polyamory, feminism, social justice, divorce, and more.

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Why pay for a subscription?

While much of the content will be available on Medium as well, for $7 a month, you will have access to all posts, including those I feel are too raw, spindly, tangled, personal, or explicit to post publicly. You can also support an artist in a meaningful way. Become a founding subscriber, at a level of your choosing, and I’ll send you a handmade piece of thank-you art!

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exploring human connection in all its forms

People

Polyamorous, loud laughing unapologetic feminist, rad fatty, and epic sweet tooth.