10 things that made my heart soar in July

Including the delicious book I read in one day, my favourite summer pie & more.

Welcome to Beyond Survival, a publication about life after trauma. I’m still seeking questions for my new, ‘Ask Clare’ advice column. AMA on grief, trauma, relationships, mental health, writing, family, recovery or anything else that's plaguing you.

Writing about trauma can be heavy, but one thing that makes it possible is living a good life outside of my work. Here are ten things that have brought me joy over the last month. Before we start, here are the articles I published this month. Huge thanks to

Dana Leigh Lyons

for hosting me at

Sober App

too.

Ask Clare: How to navigate grief and trauma in close relationships?

What I learned from my first live storytelling event

Sobriety Helped Me Recover From Sexual Violence

I also published my first perk for paid subscribers, an audio recording of the story I shared at the Dublin Story Slam:

The night my mother died, I was washing dishes

Ten things which brought me joy in July…

Pitching for funding in my Kermit suit 🤞🏻

1. Practicing my funding pitch at the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Ideas Academy last week. I won’t know if I was successful for a few weeks, but I’ll be sure to keep you posted 🤞🏻

2. Devouring this book in a single day. I read a few paragraphs of this excerpt before hitting ‘buy now’ and I do not regret it. Recommend if you love moreish books about food and strong female leads. Piglet forever 🐷

   

3. Idolising a GOAT. 🐐

4. Making

   Alison Roman
   ’s Blueberry Cornmeal tart. It was so good, and even with frozen blueberries. 

5. Thinking about Alice Munro with the help of this nuanced conversation. Highly recommend

   Brandon
   ’s piece too.

6. Struggling through a brutal bout of Covid. It was an unwelcome reminder that I need to be resting more and doing less. The only thing that helped was sitting on my ass and doing absolutely nothing until my energy returned.  🤧

7. Revelling in the pure joy of watching neighbourhood dogs compete in a canine obstacle course. Think flappy ears and breathless excitement as they ran through tunnels, hopped fences and traversed mini-bridges. 🐶

8. Rethinking the concept of ‘cancellation’ after this conversation with Africa Brooke (h/t

   Rosie Spinks
   ) ⛔

9. Delighting in an appearance on

   Memoir Land
   , which I’ve been reading for years. Thank you
   Sari Botton
   .

10. And, also a feature in Katie Hawkins-Gaar’s newsletter about the difference it made to bring a little nature onto my desk .

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    💕 If you found joy in this little round up, please tap the heart to help spread the word.

    💬 In the comments, I’d love to hear about the things that have made your heart soar this month.

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