I’m curious, do you subscribe to email newsletters? It seems like they’ve become more popular lately, or maybe I am just really late to the newsletter game. Some of my favorite newsletters are totally free, and some are through Substack, which offer different tiers of subscription (all have a free level). Even the paid subscriptions are inexpensive, and it’s always nice to support people whose work I admire and regularly enjoy. These are the emails I always look forward to reading, refuse to ever delete from my inbox, and frequently forward to everyone I love. 

ONE | Anne Helen Peterson: Culture Study

I can’t remember who introduced me to Anne Helen Peterson’s newsletter, but it became a fast favorite, and by far one of my most frequently forwarded emails. Her essays are focused on issues that impact us all, and she often articulates so well the things that are affecting me the most in culture and society. She’s had a heavy focus on the pandemic, work and office culture (and how it’s changing), grief, parenting, and so much more. The book she co-authored with her husband about shifts in the workplace environment ‘Out of Office’ is so relatable and explains a lot of the frustrations we’ve felt in the last few years and why. I so look forward to her weekly emails and I love how she engages her audience on Instagram, asking for candid feedback and sharing the responses. I will read literally anything she writes.

Sign up for her newsletter here

TWO | Olivia Muenter

Not long after I stumbled upon Olivia Muenter’s Instagram, she became a co-host for one of my favorite weekly podcasts, Bad on Paper. Undeniably relatable, warm, and extremely likeable, she’s someone you instantly want to be friends with. She’s been sending out newsletters more frequently with heartfelt and introspective personal essays that often focus on body image and self acceptance. Here is one of my favorite recent essays about productivity, and the joy that can be found in limitations. 

Sign up for her newsletter here

THREE | Amber Katz: Things I Buy as a Civilian

I was just recently introduced to Amber’s newsletter, and it is truly a gem. I love her honest and humorous writing style, and her blunt opinions on whether a product is really worth the hype. She convinced me to buy this french bodywash that’s newly available stateside, and I’m *obsessed*. 

Sign up for her newsletter here

FOUR | Doree Shafrir: Now We’re Talkin’

Doree is an author and the co-host of one of my other favorite podcasts, Forever 35. Her newsletters feel like catching up with a friend (or older sister) over coffee, and she usually touches on social issues that affect us all. She shares perspectives and insights into motherhood and the lives of other women through diary-like entries of what their day looks like and the things that impact their thoughts and lives. It’s refreshing and thoughtful, and a perspective I always appreciate.

Sign up for her newsletter here

FIVE | Val Monroe : How Not To F*ck Up Your Face

Val Monroe is a author and editor, and worked as the beauty director for O, The Oprah Magazine for sixteen years. She gives philosophical and practical advice for, as she says, “anyone who’s ever looked in the mirror”. She focuses on self compassion and acceptance of our appearance and aging, and has so much life experience and such a strong sense of self. I just love her approach to skincare and I want to hear every single piece of advice she has to offer!

Sign up for her newsletter here

Did you make it all the way through this post before signing up for one of these women’s newsletters? If not, what are you waiting for?! 

I hope that if you weren’t already familiar with these women and their writing, then today you’ve been introduced to someone whose work will positively impact you as much as they have for me.

If there’s a newsletter or essayist that you enjoy, please share it in the comments below — I’d love to hear from you!