She's baaack...

The debut of "the next chapter"

A fond and grateful welcome to former readers of my column in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and warm greetings to curious newcomers! This post marks the debut of Carrie’s Chronicles, the first venture of my post-daily newspaper career, a newsletter that will both continue and expand upon the issues, topics and subjects I wrote about in my column and during earlier phases of my 40+ years in newspaper journalism.

In all honesty, I had no intention of creating a blog or a newsletter when I left the paper in December of 2020. Though I began to miss my engagement with readers and involvement in the community immediately upon my departure, I was grateful to be relieved of the pressure of every-other-day deadlines and eager to focus instead on other writing priorities I’d long postponed — specifically a collection of memoir essays related to food; the story of my son’s journey to wellness after a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder at age 22; a rewrite of my father’s biography to include more about the evolution of our relationship before his death in 2009; and a children’s book celebrating kids with ADHD. (These are all still in the works.)

But over the past month since my rather abrupt departure (my own decision, but a reluctantly-reached choice), I’ve received an overwhelming (and very humbling) amount of emails and calls — over 600 in the first week alone — expressing regret at the loss of my column and urging me to find another forum or platform. Just last week, in separate Zoom presentations to two local groups, more than 200 others weighed in with the same request. As a writer and a human being, it didn’t take much to realize I’d be a fool not to embrace and be thankful for such a supportive and encouraging group of fans — and to want to do whatever it takes to keep them around.

Thus was born Carrie’s Chronicles.

I’d originally envisioned a more traditional website or blog, but after suggestions from several readers, as well as a recent New Yorker article, I discovered Substack. It seemed like a perfect fit, offering me the freedom to write on my own schedule, to expand the boundaries of what I write and how I write about it and to still remain in close touch with my followers. (And while for the time being the Chronicles will be free, it also provides an easy avenue to monetize the newsletter in the future, while still making it very affordable to subscribers.)

As I write this first post, I’m still mulling over my exact direction and intentions. Which is why I’d love for those of you who sign up to receive these posts to share your thoughts about what you’d like to read about here. I’ve even thought of devoting a regular post to a column answering readers’ submitted questions, if that’s something that would be of interest. (Think of it as a New Age Dear Abby.)

While I hope to continue keeping an eye on important issues in Sarasota — particularly those around mental health, equity and income inequality — I’d also like to both expand my horizons and grant myself the freedom to write on other subjects more far-afield when the fancy strikes me. That’s the welcome benefit of having a platform where I will be my own boss. I hope you agree and will enjoy reading about wherever my meandering mind takes me.

For now, let me just express my gratitude to all those who have written and called these past few weeks to offer both solace and bolstering, as well as encouragement to “(Carrie) on”! If you’re enthusiastic about the possibilities for this new venture, I hope you’ll sign up and encourage others to check out Carrie’s Chronicles as well. Let the new chapter begin!