Well, hello there

Surprised? "If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am right now."

Mates! Hello! It’s been a while.

If you’re surprised to have me back in your inbox, please know I am surprised right alongside you. It’s been almost two years since I wrapped up The Tortoise (and what a two years) and until recently, didn’t think I’d ever return to writing or podcasting. But here we are, and I. AM. NERVOUS.

(Also, if you’re wondering who the hell I actually am, my name is Brooke. Nice to meet you. I hosted The Slow Home Podcast for a decade with my husband Ben, and in 2022, I created The Tortoise, a slow-living newsletter here on Substack. At some point, you subscribed to it, which is why I’m in your inbox right now.)

hi. we’re nice and this isn’t spam.

I’m working on a longer post about where I’m up to and what my plans are and it will be out some time next week. But in short, I’ve done a lot of healing since I was last here. The deep, life-saving, soul-changing kind I couldn’t have even imagined possible in 2024.

The healed version of me is both harder and softer than she used to be. Slower and faster. Quieter and louder. Lighter and heavier. Happier and sadder. Open and closed. She cares more deeply and genuinely does.not.give.a.shit. She is the tortoise and the hare, if you’ll allow me the slightly on-the-nose analogy.

I’m learning to feel truly alive in the mess of the middle, to embrace inconsistency, find freedom in the multitudes within me and dance with joy in spite of pain.

And it’s in those multitudes that a new project came to life, slowly at first and then all at once. Today, I’m super excited to share a sneaky lil peekie with you.

the tortoise & the hare is a brand-new podcast (now with video, if that’s your jam) hosted by Ben and myself. A human-made, homegrown, perfectly imperfect show about the rigid, binary extremes the modern world tries to shoehorn us into, and what might happen if we try living in the messy middle.

The five-minute teaser is out today and we’re really excited for the first full episode, which drops on August 20.

Please bear with me as I get my shit in order here on Substack. I’ve got a lot of tidying up to do on the back end and some admin stuff which is proving a little glitchy.

Until then, you can listen to the teaser episode below, and please remember to subscribe so you don’t miss the first show.

You can also find us on:

• YouTube (which is exciting and absolutely terrifying)

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Pocketcasts

• Wherever else you get good pod

sunny side because I collage now

Before I go, a couple of things I want to tell you:

1. I’ve missed this. You, community, writing.

2. I’m scared. Of burning out again, disappointing people, doing or saying too much, doing or saying not enough.

But the past two years taught me a lot about who I am and what I stand for, what I need and what I tolerate. I’m in a much much better place — which we will talk about a bit in the first episode — so while I’m nervous, I’m also confident in this new version of me.

If you’re already a subscriber, thank you! I hope you stick around and see what’s on offer. If not, I’d love for you to join us. You’ll get an email when a new letter or podcast is published and will be first to hear about our weekly episodes for paying supporters. (More info about that soon.)

The first full show drops on 20th August, and we’ll be digging into a topic that might feel familiar to a lot of our old listeners: fast & slow.

Until then, if you need me, I’ll be tinkering behind the scenes. Please say hello in the comments. I can’t wait to see some of your lovely faces again.

Brooke xx