So you say you're feeling overwhelmed by this whole parenting thing? Your child is intense, strong-willed, has big emotions, and you are just hanging on? Or maybe they are slow to warm up and getting them to do anything new feels like a struggle... Wherever you are, it can feel isolating when everyone around you seems to have it so easy. And they're so full of advice, but it just doesn't work for your child. Welcome, friend. The Lifeline is my weekly-ish email for parents just like you. You are not alone, and you don't have to grit your teeth and just get through it. You can change the dynamic within your family. You can reclaim your life. One day at a time. One email at a time. I can't wait for you to join us.
An Invitation
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Hello Reader, Well, it's 2025, and I've been out of touch. Rather, I've been focused. Focused on creating a homeschool balance that works for us, focused on supporting my clients, and focused on co-creating a school alternative for families in my community. I've come to realize that creating alternatives is my primary form of activism, really, and I have long been an activist at heart. My main purpose with Partnered Path Parenting, for example, is helping families explore alternatives to traditional parenting that honor and celebrate the magnificence of the children. I have been feeling conflicted, though. It's a conflict that arises from knowing that one of the most powerful things we can do for ourselves and our families is reduce the noise paired with a post-covid dependence on social media as a primary means of spreading my message and connecting with new people. Truth #1: I want to divest from Meta. Truth #2: Meta has been a big part of connecting me with families like you. I've gotten to the point, though, where truth #1 is winning for me. So, I am working on providing alternatives. If you'd like to stay with me on this journey, here's what I've got for you: SubstackThe written word is my jam. I will continue to write and send emails to this list, but if you'd prefer an app that gives you that old-school google reader feel, come join me on substack. These emails are available over there (The Lifeline), and you can find all of my podcast episodes there as well. If you're interested in more general musings, I also write a substack called The Blackbird Chronicles. I love that substack gives me an all-in-one place for my writing, without the video driven algorithm of other platforms. There is a bit of a social feel to it, too, but it's less in your face. Bluesky and StoryGraphIf you would like to connect socially, this is where I'm hanging out these days. You can find me at @juliamcgarey.bsky.social on bluesky, and this is my profile on StoryGraph. I love that I can so easily adjust my feed in bluesky and that I'm not constantly inundated with videos (recurring theme here!). If I feel like reading about books, I can do that. If I want to read up on the news, I'm in control of that as well. And StoryGraph is filling a hole that I didn't realize existed. I used to be fairly active on goodreads, but it lost its appeal for me a few years ago. StoryGraph plays to exactly what I feel I've been missing, and it makes reading challenges (like Read Harder, which I love) so much easier to start. Other possibilitiesAt the moment, I'm trying to subtract things from my to-do list, but I do want to mention one other platform I've come across that I think could be useful to this community in the future: Band. Band is an app for groups, and I was so happy when I discovered it. Groups are one of the main reasons I've stayed on facebook as long as I have, and Band provides a viable alternative. I used to have a group on facebook, and I would be willing to consider starting a Band group if there is enough interest. What do you think? Would you appreciate a parenting-focused group away from facebook? Reply to this email and let me know. Your partner in parenting, Julia McGarey PS I want it to be easy to connect and get the support you need to grow as a parent. Our work together starts with a free consultation call, and if we decide to move forward, I offer tiered pricing to meet you where you are. Please don't hesitate to reach out.
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The Lifeline
So you say you're feeling overwhelmed by this whole parenting thing? Your child is intense, strong-willed, has big emotions, and you are just hanging on? Or maybe they are slow to warm up and getting them to do anything new feels like a struggle... Wherever you are, it can feel isolating when everyone around you seems to have it so easy. And they're so full of advice, but it just doesn't work for your child. Welcome, friend. The Lifeline is my weekly-ish email for parents just like you. You are not alone, and you don't have to grit your teeth and just get through it. You can change the dynamic within your family. You can reclaim your life. One day at a time. One email at a time. I can't wait for you to join us.
Hello Reader, My fingers feel a bit rusty as I type this to you this morning. 2025 has been quite a year, hasn't it? And it's only March 1st. When the world is swirling around you, unexpected life changes are cropping up, and your child still needs your support more than ever, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. And it's even worse if your partner isn't on board with your parenting, or your friends have kids who sleep through the night, love going to school, or any other number of things kids are...
Hello Reader, I’ve been quiet for a while. My grandmother passed away on September 28th, and it was hard to write about anything but that. Channeling my thinking into usable, relevant chunks for parents was the last thing on my mind. I was revisiting memories, thinking about my younger self. And honestly, I know that version of me would never have imagined that I could be someone who would write about one topic every week for six years. I have a rainforest mind, after all. Sometimes I’m not...
Hello Reader, So much I do as a parent goes against "the rules."You can find whole books written about the rules.You can find rules for every aspect of childhood and parenting.More important than following them, in my mind, is questioning them.Question the validity and the necessity.Question who wrote them and what their intention was.Do it even for the things you have always engraved as givens.Do it because you value your relationship with your child and their mental health over...