My latest piece for @cultured_mag • I don’t know who this is for but as I approach the 10 year anniversary of my divorce I reflect out loud on decisions made and i made it what it meant for me to step away from a very good man. The last slide is the thought that sparked my desire to write a piece on this at all. • full essay at the link in my bio. • In my new book “A Renaissance of Our Own: A Memoir and Manifesto on Reimagining” I speak more to this really momentous experience for me. You can purchase my book at the link in my bio as well. #divorce

My book! It’s here. I am incredibly proud to present my book — A Renaissance of Our Own: a Memoir and Manifesto on Reimagining This book has been born through a deep laboring that included both joy and despair but mostly through truth and vulnerability. The loss of my mother just mere weeks before I’m able to present it to you now only makes this moment more potent, more heartfelt and fills me with even more pride to tell my story. My entire life has been a testament to reimagining. While I did not have a name for it at the time, as a young girl and into my adulthood I daydreamed constantly about who I might be outside of society’s expectations of a poor, Black girl from the midwest. I decided that I deserved more ease, abundance and opportunity than the world might offer me. In this book I share my personal stories of how I reimagined my life in areas like my feminism, romance, family, work and rest — while sharing the tools I used to find my truth in each. I stand as living proof that a life reimagined is possible for us. Proof that with a willingness to #dothework; to make peace with the unknown, and to believe wholeheartedly that we are worth the effort there is a renaissance of our own to step into. This book is a reminder of the power and possibility of reimagining. #ARenaissanceOfOurOwn comes out on 5/16 but you can preorder your copy now at the link in my bio. You can also join me live tonight 8pm ET over in Talk Shop Live (link also in bio) to preorder an exclusive signed copy of my book. Thank you to my teams at both @lovelandgroupllc and @randomhouse @vintagebooks ooks for helping to make this dream come true. Cover art by @sarahstieber — thank you friend! I developed the title of my book years ago ( in a small Brooklyn bedroom I was renting in 2015 — a story I’ll have to tell another time) but imagine my awe at the synchronicity of @beyonce dropping her iconic album with the same powerful language 🥂 Cheers to each of us (including queen Bey) indulging in a true Renaissance of Our Own! What do you think? Comment below and let me know we’re all in the together because I’m a puddle of nerves with this reveal 😄

This community continues to grow and I wanted to take a moment to re-introduce myself. Read on if you wanna learn a little more about me! • My name is Rachel Elizabeth Cargle. I was born & raised in Akron, Ohio. I am a 34 year old queer Black woman who has a place to call home in both NYC & Kingston, Jamaica. • 🌿I am a writer, social entrepreneur and philanthropic innovator. I often show up as a visiting lecturer, keynote speaker, workshop facilitator or contributor to various fantastic publications like @cultured_mag where I do art writing or @atmos where I craft essays on culture. . 🌻I am founder and president of @thelovelandfoundation, a non profit that developed out of a simple birthday fundraiser I launched in 2018. We support thousands of women of color in gaining access to mental health care they deserve, cost free! We also serve & support therapists of color as we know how critical their presence is in the mental health care landscape. . 🌞I developed and facilitate an online community of (un)learners called @thegreatunlearn. It’s donation based and self paced! Monthly we publish syllabi & bring in experts of color to lead our collective approach to learning outside of the white lens. . 📚 In 2020 I opened @elizabethsofakron a bookstore & writing center in my hometown of Akron, Ohio. Our shelves and events highlight, amplify & celebrate the work of writers who are often excluded from traditional cultural, social, & academic canons. . 💄I also adore the small & engaging community I lead for women like myself who are childfree by choice. If you can relate, join us over at @richauntiesupreme! . 🌱 My business ventures loving live within my umbrella company @lovelandgroupllc and are nourished by the genius work of my fantastic team • Thanks for being part of my world! I think there’s magic in social medias ability to gather people to share our stories. • This space is dedicated to my ancestors, the bold & brilliant black women who have fought hard & long & passionately generation after generation. For them I choose to exist in intention, ease and abundance. • Tell me about you! where are you from? where are you now? How did our worlds collide?

When my mother died I realized that I would never be the same. Grief was an unraveling. It caused me to reconsider everything I knew about myself. The inner chaos and tumult has left me shattered. Outbursts of tears, the gut ache of anger, the breathtaking reality that life goes on. Ive been combing through what I’ve always understood to be true — about myself, about my mother, about the world we live in and all the people and living beings we share this earth with. What matters, who holds me, what a life well lived might look like, what else I must shed to really have the chance to know myself before it’s all over. I felt a deep pull to craft. Craft — its the word that sat on my tongue most heavily as I thought through things. A desire to truly build out a life instead of simply tumbling through each day/week/year. More grounded, less lofty. More present, less busy. More content, less ambitious. More considered, less excessive. More connected, less performative. More embodied, less dissociated. More tender, less tough. With this understanding I wanted to be in relationship to craft quite literally. I wanted to pull from the details of what it means to build something with my hands so I could translate that to the intention I put into crafting my friendships, my wellness, my love life, my work in the world. I applied to a two week ceramics workshop at @haystack_school in Maine and there I sank into all of those things with my hands in the mud, my body in the salt water, my heart open and my pen in my hand. Just two days in, I learned that my grandmother had passed away. More shattering, more shock, more mud, more salt water, more open heart, more writing. I’m sitting on the plane now, heading to lay grandma to rest after her 99 years here on earth. I have absolutely no idea what the future holds for me but what I know for sure is that all roads lead to only getting more and more free on the other side of this excruciating (and enlightening) point in my journey. What did grief bring you to better understand about yourself? (note: If it’s easier feel free to use my own frame work of “more/less” to describe it). as always, book link in bio ✨🙏🏾

Today, sitting on the rocks off the gorgeous coast of Deer Isle, Maine, it felt overwhelmingly like I was at an edge. The edge of the earth, the edge of self knowing, the edge of my sanity— I wanted to pull in a full breath and scream out into that vast clear blue horizon: “MOM!” . In my mind the edge meant she might be JUST beyond it. Wherever it is that our mothers and grandmothers go after they leave us here. . 📷: @_hasef_

I am because you were. • My grandmother passed away this morning. Tonight I’ll be dreaming about the laughter between her and my mom once they embrace there on the other side. • It’s true. I am because you were, grandma. Thank you for embodying such a fabulous version of yourself. You had so many reasons to choose differently — but you showed up with the most elegant versions of peace, faith, wit and humor. • Ill be snacking on peanut butter rice crispy treats and doing crossword puzzles in honor of our supremely special love for the rest of my life.

Brooklyn, you owe me nothing. • Its such a sweet and silly irony the way we dive into this glorious city to find ourselves — then must step away to find ourselves, yet again. • I am in my season of grief and I must attend to it. • A love note for those who find they might need it: you, dear one, don’t have to keep up with the Jones’s— even when the Joneses are yourself. Get free, you deserve it. • See you around, my love. • Tell me, how has grief caused you to shape shift? What new version of yourself has grief invited in?

I’m feeling drawn to bring back a weekly tradition that used to live in this space for quite a while. • It’s Friend Care Friday and I hope you can dream up some sweet ways to care for each other. • And if you are someone who receives a bit of this care today: Take it. Let love rest in you for a bit. • Wishing you a lovely weekend ahead! • Friend Care Idea Notes: -Tag someone in the comments and leave them a sweet compliment. Let them know you SEE them. -I’m sharing some of my favorite book titles lately in my stories for those who want to make sending a sweet book to their friend today part of their friend care practice!

I saw the Barbie movie — as a woman in her mid 30’s I saw a bit of myself and where I am in life. • whew! Cheering on us all who have been willing to move through reality, feel all our feelings and who might even have the audacity to take up space in the world. • anything resonate?

It’s been a beautiful month of centering and pouring into the mental wellness of our community. At @thelovelandfoundation it’s what we do every single day. I know you’re perhaps familiar with our therapy vouchers but I have to make sure you know that your donations are much more expansive than just that. In addition to therapy services, Loveland prioritizes the well- being and growth of BIPOC therapists through their healer’s circle community and professional development opportunities. All of this is possible because of you all, the Loveland family. If you would like to support #TheLovelandFoundation please consider a monthly $5 donation, your morning coffee, as an investment in generational change! All donations will go towards building equity and access in the mental health space. We look forward to continuing to serve in this way for many generations to come. ✨

Our next virtual grief gathering is happening this weekend and as usual we’ll be joined by Death Doula Sula Johnson (@peace_n_out) and the rest of our incredible community for our monthly storytelling event happening July 30th at 2pm EST Whether it be honoring your loved ones legacy, exercising a memory, or having others bear witness to your grief - storytelling is a powerful tool for remembrance and grieving. This is an opportunity to say something that hasn’t been said, remember out loud, or bring your person’s presence to the (virtual) room. We want to hear about them! This is a place for you to bring what you’re keeping inside. Feel the power of saying your loved one’s name. Tell a story to an anonymous group, allowing your memories to take on new life, or tell a story that relates to your grief journey. We’re here to listen. This is not a discussion or grief therapy but an opportunity to share on your lost loved one in whatever way feels right. A prompt will be provided to guide you, but any storytelling that feels right is welcome. Waves monthly virtual events will continue to be offered on a month by month basis and always by donation but if you’re looking for more ways to connect in your grieving, you can find me and my programming team over on Patreon for more in depth and ongoing conversation. Monthly subscriptions to Patreon will offer exclusive audio notes from Rachel, written monthly prompts from Rachel, grief readings and book recommendations, access to all monthly virtual events, and seasonal holiday rituals and ceremony to work with your grief. In addition to Waves offerings, you’ll have access to programming from The Great Unlearn, Rich Auntie Supreme and Elizabeth’s Bookshop and Writing Centre. The link to join us is in my bio. You can either grab an individual donation based ticket or you can make your donation via patreon and get access to our other programming and materials as well. Our last several events were really special, powerful and healing. I’m looking forward to seeing you again next week.

swipe ✨ Sometimes all the all the church you need on a Sunday morning is permission to fall apart. Sunday morning moodboard speaking to my own era of falling apart. At the mercy of the grief, the heartache, the world changes, the aging, the big decisions that must be made (and quickly!) — I’m taking time to fall apart, to unravel, to be a mess. To dilly dally, to take a break, to day dream, to reimagine, to pour into that reading and rest and reconnection, to unfold. I think I deserve it — the type of falling apart that allows you to really look at all the pieces and decide what (if any) of it matters. What materials and tools you’d like to use on the journey ahead and which you can let go of or offer to others who too are on their way. A falling apart that invites release and regathering. Grateful for the tenderness in all the places I’ve been able to find it. I will be paying it forward for the rest of my life. I wish for you the unraveling whenever you need it. I wish for you a community and the resources that give you grace and love you through it. I wish you presence and intention with yourself in the depths of it. I wish you a soft and sweet emergence into what you know is best for you. You know what I mean? If you’re in an unraveling, offered yourself a falling apart, witness the glory of the other side or simple know you could surely use one — tell me in the comments. Let me (and the others quietly reading and feeling it all )know we’re not alone.