What is Between a Rock and a Card Place?
As a wise person (a therapist) once told me, humans are meant to be in community. This word has come to mean a lot of different things over the years, but these days, it feels more important than ever.
Community is at the heart of this newsletter — a place for always-honest and often-vulnerable writing about relationships, jobs, fears, inspirations, creativity, imposter syndrome, funny stories, and other assorted human stuff.
Every Sunday Letter includes an essay and a weekly tarot card for the collective. (If you’re not into tarot, I urge you to still give it a try — my style of reading is more like a weekly pep talk, with prompts and questions to carry into the coming days.)
They publish on Sunday evenings (to help combat scaries), except on select holidays, when they may go out on Monday. Free subscribers get 1 or 2 Sunday Letters per month, while paid subscribers receive it every week.
Paid subscribers also receive an additional Midweek Letter, which I think of as a grab bag post. They’re shorter and more casual, and often feature brief interviews, personal or offbeat writing, recommendations, AMAs, and other fun, thought-provoking, or uplifting things.
About Me
I’m Caroline, a writer who lives in Brooklyn. You may know me from my time as an editor at Cup of Jo or from reading my essays in places like The Cut, New York Magazine, Elle, The Washington Post, Refinery29, and The Zoe Report. (And if not, hi! It’s great to meet you.)
I’m the author of Best Babysitters Ever, a middle grade book series about three girls who start a business inspired by The Baby-Sitters Club and get a whole lot more than they bargained for. I’ve also worked as a collaborator on a dozen-ish books by notable people. (If you’re curious about that process, check out this interview on Shondaland, where I talk more about it.)
Before becoming a full-time writer, I had a bunch of other jobs… at a fashion house, a record label, a massive corporate law office followed by a small civil rights firm… Eventually, I landed in book publishing, working at a literary agency and then as an acquiring editor at Penguin Random House. When I just couldn’t ignore it anymore, I jumped off the proverbial cliff to write.
So, what’s with the whole tarot thing?
Despite their reputation as a divination tool, most modern readers will tell you the tarot is NOT about fortunetelling — there is nothing to “believe in,” they are not associated with any religion, and our free will is always paramount. The cards are simply one path to reflection, a way of understanding ourselves through universal themes, symbols, and archetypes.
If a message resonates with you, great! And if it doesn’t, don’t worry about it! Easy enough.
What if I want to subscribe, but I hate email?
Me too!
In a world full of brands trying to peddle you things, I hope this feels more like an email from a friend — something you’re glad to see and maybe even look forward to.
You can always access the free posts directly via the website, if that’s more your speed. You can also subscribe and read via the Substack app, which lets you opt out of receiving emails without missing the latest posts.
If you have any questions, feel free to drop me an email! I love hearing from you.
Thank you for reading.
