⭐ ”Clare’s work is extraordinarily generous and inviting - exactly what survivors need as they’re beginning the long road back to themselves (or to a new version of themselves).“ — Ryan Rose Weaver

I believe that survival is a creative act.

Whatever kind of trauma we experience, we need to make ourselves anew in the aftermath. I write about my experiences with trauma (childhood sexual abuse, my mother’s death in a car accident when I was 19, workplace trauma). I overcame my trauma by writing my way through it. Other things helped too: therapy, time, yoga etc. But writing & building a nourishing creative life were the things that changed my life.

These days, my work is focused on exploring creativity, recovery & community.

What to expect from this newsletter:

• I send a weekly newsletter every Tuesday. Expect a mix of personal essays, cultural recommendations and reflections on building a creative life. I also run The Understory Conversations, a series of interviews about writing trauma.
  

• I host Monthly Creative Gatherings for the Life after Trauma community. It’s a rich, generative space designed to leave you feeling inspired to create in whatever way makes sense for you. We chat about our stumbles, celebrate our wins and find community to support our creative work.

⭐ “Clare, it was such a lovely hour. I am in deep gratitude to you and all the others who shared with their most tender artist hearts in our time together.” — Amy Brown

• I work with writers and other creative people as a workshop facilitator, creative mentor and advisor.

• I curate the SurvivorStack directory, a collection of 100+ newsletters on trauma and recovery. SurvivorStack exists to build community around painful topics. If you’re a survivor looking for sustenance in other people’s stories or a writer looking for companionship in your work, I hope you’ll find it here. (If you’d like to be included in the directory, please let me know! All the details are below 👇 )

SurvivorStack: A directory of newsletters about life after trauma

Clare Egan

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November 12, 2024

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Special projects:

From time to time, I host special events for the Life after Trauma community. Things like a free, 90 minute trauma informed yoga class or The Artist’s Advent Calendar, a series of small creative practices for dark days.

In 2025, we did The Artist’s Way together. It was a transformative experience both me for and the community and I’m planning to do it again soon.

⭐ “[This experience of] The Artist’s Way changed my life”— Anonymous

I’m always looking for new ways to build community and deepen the bonds we’ve created in this space.

A little more about me:

I live in Dublin with my family. My wife F is Italian, and we fell in love through food. I’m expecting my first child in 2026.

This newsletter is read by 1000+ readers in 50 countries. My writing has been published widely. I’m especially proud of this essay about coming out as gay (in the Huffington Post), this essay about my mother’s death in a car accident when I was 19 (originally published in The Irish Independent) and this one about childhood sexual abuse and hot water bottles (originally published in Púca).

Prior to my writing career, I spent more than a decade working in communications for non-profits causes. I worked with small, community organisations and big international brands like UNICEF and Amnesty International. My career took me all over the world: rural Zambian villages, Malawian prisons, hopscotching across India, leading press trips to report on the Syrian refugee crisis, a trip to Gaza, a year in New York and two summers in Washington DC.

The best compliment I ever received was from my senior infants teacher who said I was “a good reader”. This is still true.

What to read next?

• To read more about my own experience of grief, childhood sexual violence and complex mental illness, you might like to start with this introductory essay. (Don’t worry, it has a happy ending!)

• I’ve been writing this newsletter (in its current form) since 2023, and have published 150+ essays. If you’re looking for something specific, the index might be a useful starting point.

• Comments, questions and feedback is always welcome via this form.

• You can submit your questions for the Ask Clare advice column here.