Our New Unkempt Home

I have a lot of news, but let's start simple: it feels sooo good to *finally* be here!

Welcome back, my friends. Grab a cup of tea and pull up a chair. It’s been a minute since we’ve had a spot on the interwebs where we could hang together. I’ve missed the sense of us as a community and the feeling of buoyancy it’s always given me.

The transition to full-time author was more intense than I thought it would be: there’s not only writing the original manuscript, there’s editing, and editing (and did I mention editing?). Then I poke my head up for marketing and promotion before it’s on to the next book proposal. In the midst of this cycle, teaching courses felt disruptive and my Sunday Tea blog morphed from being a friendly writing-date with myself into the literary equivalent of a three hour traffic jam… in the pouring rain… stuck behind a car with a failing muffler.

(Or maybe I was the failing muffler… Which makes sense, since I finally just clunked.)

Lately, I’ve gone to the other extreme: after over a decade of being in community through the blog and classes, I’ve become a full-on hermit. Andrew and I moved to the woods and it’s become pretty easy for me to go forever without seeing another human. I write the next book, drink a ridiculous amount of tea, walk the dogs… And somehow feel less and less like myself.

And I know I’m not the only one. I can’t tell you how often I hear from this amazing group of readers that they still crave a community. A place to gather to talk about nature, spirituality, favorite books, and the crazy-magic of life.

A few months back I looked at the calendar. My last contracted manuscript is due the first week of April. Then there’s promotion for the memoir which comes out in June. And then?

And then there’s nothing. A long stretch of blank months I could rush to fill with the next proposal… Or…

Or I could look up, take a deep breath, and try to create something different. Something that’s been lost not just for me but, I think, for all of us: a sense of having a safe place to show up as ourselves, to reconnect with the magic and wonder of life, to explore whatever we define as the sacred, and to be in community with others who are joyously following the same path. To be part of an us.

I tried to ignore this thought at first, after all, I make my living writing books. Creating community takes both time and energy. But I found myself revisiting past programs, watching episodes of Ground Your Shit, and reading comments in The Medicine Keepers Collective… And I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities for something new, something vivacious and warm and welcoming. Unkempt had taken root.

Those of you who’ve been with me a while know I've done this before. I’ve hopped us from idea to idea, from platform to platform trying find one that felt right. What you don’t know is that while I found plenty of platforms and concepts that would have supported you, I never found one that also supported me. In order for there to be an us, we all need to feel buoyed.

This is it. This is the space I’ve been searching for.

Unkempt will bring together not only the things that currently inspire and bring me joy, but it will also house past writings and teachings. Most importantly, it will be a space we build together. All of you will help shape it, because, being here on Substack gives us a chance to (re)connect. When I write, you can write back. We can all chat on a thread and really talk to each other. I’m hoping that let’s us build something very special… for all of us.

Having spent the last few months exploring Substack as a reader, I’m thrilled to report that it’s free from the weird algorithms of Facebook and the frenzied reels of Instagram. No ads, a clean, understandable format to dive right into, interesting articles by amazing writers on a wide variety of topics:

Alix E. Harrow

,

Lisa Olivera

,

Kate Oliver

,

Emma Gannon

,

Katherine Brodsky

,

Katherine May

,

Farrah Storr

,

Christene Barberich

,

Rob Brezsny

, and so many more. While there’s always a sense of the larger community that is Substack, within each individual writer's space you can take a deep, undistracted breath, and settle in. Perhaps most importantly for me, Substack is also a platform that allows writers to be supported directly by their readers. We can be bouyed, together.

I think I’ve found our dream home!

Now comes the tricky part…

I’m committed to “buying” this house and filling it with things that nourish our minds and souls. I want to create a home worth visiting regularly. And (this is a little scary), in order to do this, I’m not going to jump into the next book deal. Instead, I’m going to put time and elbow grease into Unkempt.

Here’s the bit where I need your help. There’s no publishing company behind this work, no advance or salary. And I’m not running it as a course. In other words, creating this space will take lots of energy without a guaranteed income. The dogs have agreed to this crazy plan, but I had to promise to not lose the house!

So, if you have enjoyed the work I have done over the last decade, and are at a point in your own life where you feel you can become a paid subscriber to Unkempt, it would truly mean the world to me (I mean to us!).

And, of course, there’s no way I’m going to ask for your support without giving you a smorgasbord to snack on (which I will encourage you to enjoy when it feels enjoyable: just like when we did courses, don’t stuff yourself!). When you become a paid subscriber, you’ll have access to:

• Unkempt Conversations where I invite interesting people to talk with me about the writing life, ritual and spirituality, our connection with nature and with each other… and whatever else comes up!

• Unkempt Advice, my version of an Ask Maia column or AMA (Ask Me Anything) - or whatever you want to call Q&A’s with me!

• The Mystic Files, a curated tour through my writing and programs to unearth forgotten treasures and revisit past ideas from a fresh, present-day perspective.

• Insider sneak peeks of upcoming work & unpublished story snippets.

• Comment and chat with the community on any post and join in special threads of conversation.

• And probably some really random and super cool ideas I come up with when the mood strikes me - that’s what Unkempt is all about!

But mainly? You’ll be supporting me. For fifteen years I’ve been creating and sharing free content on my blog, website, Instagram, and Facebook. As I transition out of course creation and into being a full time writer, it feels like the right time to ask for your support.

What does it cost?

It costs either $5 a month or $50 a year… which is a little more or little less than a dollar a week. Either way, it’s way less than a course, a new journal, or an essential oil candle.

I do understand that even this might not be an option for everyone. If you are wanting to be a part of the entire Unkempt experience but have financial concerns, please send me a note at maia@maiatoll.com.

And if you’re one of my Biggest Fans…

If you’re what my content manager (that’s Shan’s title of the moment!) calls “a lifer” like her, you can sign up to be a Biggest Fan. Along with everything you get as a paid subscriber, I’ll also mail you (yup, real mail) a copy of one of my books (you get to choose), personally inscribed and signed, one for each year of your BF subscription.

Happy being free?

Fabulous! The newsletter will remain much the same as what you’ve been getting for the past year…. except maybe just a smidge more unkempt.

You don’t need to do anything: you’re already on the list!

Don’t forget to share the love!

Know a friend or two you’d love to read Unkempt with? Check out “gift subscription” options!

And… that was a lot! Thanks again for being here. I seriously cannot wait to build Unkempt… together.

love, Maia