Ashley’s Substack Podcast

Unsplash, 2025 I woke up yesterday with low, depressed energy. It was Sunday, and I hadn’t written anything to post on Monday. Maybe Saturday’s wine stole Sunday’s energy. Two glasses can send me to sluggish city. I’m trying to stick to my commitment to share something once a week on Substack. But I didn’t have a draft for this week. According to my “Writer Tracker” Google Sheet, I wrote five time...

Alexander Grey, Unsplash, 2018 Last week I completely fell off my usual routines. Barely a social post, no Substack draft ready to publish Monday, and a recycled barre routine (with Mr. Jones by Counting Crows as my warm-up. I’d just seen them live and was transported straight back to the 90s). Instead, life handed me an audition. There’s something beautiful in that disruption: when the neat struc...

Credit: Unsplash I keep wanting to write this as an essay but honestly it feels more like a rant, like I just need to spit it out first. I’ve been tempted to write about genocide. Or maybe not genocide itself but disruption . And how disruptive it is to simply… have a voice. To open your mouth at all. Because we’ve all been trained to censor ourselves. Somewhere along the way we learned that disru...

The Yukon Theatre rewired my brain in the ’80s and ’90s with films like Edward Scissorhands , Alive , My Girl , Forrest Gump , Romeo + Juliet , and Seven (just to name a few). Photo credit: Ken Wuschke, Aug 2025 A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I started a course called Lovergirl , led by poet and creative catalyst kitty knorr . The idea is to stop chasing romantic love, and start seducing our...

Hi friends, My conversation with poet, author, photographer, and philosopher of the heart, Ulrich Schaffer , was one of those rare, quietly electric hours that I know I’ll return to again and again. We talked about the kind of writing that comes not from the head, but from the heart. The kind of writing that surprises you, heals you, and stretches you into who you're becoming. Ulrich shared insigh...

There are writers who tell stories. And then there are those rare humans who hold space for truth, for ache, for the quiet beauty of being alive. Ulrich Schaffer is one of those. A novelist, poet, photographer, and philosopher of the heart, he has spent his lifetime writing into the silence most people avoid. I’ve had the privilege to read, Heartwork , a deeply personal and quietly universal book...

There’s a version of me that’s still thirteen years old, living in a basement dorm room, whispering jokes through a yellow barrette. She’s unfiltered, ridiculous, and free. I was reminded of her again last week at a dinner party with strangers. The event was called Dine Wilder , a pop-up dinner for women I didn’t know, hosted by a brilliant woman named Emily Shimwell —in a butcher shop, of all pla...

I want to share a brain nugget I’ve been rolling around this week—though honestly, it feels more like batting around one of those Oopee balls from Kentucky Fried Chicken family meals in the 90s. Do you remember those? Those water-weighted plastic beach balls that flailed through the air and made that ridiculous boing sound. My brother and I used to chase one around Rotary Park in Whitehorse with a...

Two years ago, I was drowning in creative resistance. I started this Substack—in a momentary high-vibe state—as an act of rebellion against my very low-vibe state. Today, I’m so excited to share that Wannabe Wisdom has hit 100 subscribers! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your support means everything. To celebrate, I bought myself a Dairy Queen ice cream log (as one does). The man who sold...

Hi friends, Yesterday, I had the joy of hosting a live conversation with the brilliant A. J. Van Belle writer, agent, and lovely human being who shared so much wisdom. We talked about writing, creativity, Substack, and showing up authentically on the page. A.J. spoke about the evolution of their voice through fiction, the healing nature of storytelling, and a golden piece of advice from their moth...

I’ve been experiencing writer’s block for the last couple of weeks. When this happens, I try to stay in motion. So, I journal daily. I circle around moments, sketch out half-ideas. I even wrote a 1,500-word, satirical essay on imposter syndrome. I scrapped it—it was too meta, clever, not quite real. On Good Friday, my husband and I went to the beach to people-watch. It’s one of my favorite things...

You know that feeling when someone asks how your week’s been—and you genuinely can’t remember what you did yesterday? Same. In this video version of my latest Wannabe Wisdom essay, I share how a grounding practice involving alarms, bullet points, and the occasional whiff of my hair - has somehow made me feel less anxious, more present, and a tiny bit more creatively open. Also featuring: my dog Th...

I’ve been experimenting with video essays—and today’s the first one I’m sharing with you. It’s based on my written piece, The Philosophy Hidden in a Workout Class, where I explore how connection, movement, and Matrixial Theory all collide in the most unexpected places: the fitness studio. If you’ve got feedback—thoughts, reactions, constructive criticism—I’m all ears. This is new for me, and I wan...

Episode Description: What if a workout class was more than just exercise? What if it was a mirror for how we connect, support, and shape each other—not just physically, but emotionally and politically? In this episode, I explore the unexpected philosophy hidden in movement , weaving together insights from Matrixial Theory, Ubuntu, and collective energy . From the subtle power of suggestion in a fi...

Hi friends! I spent years thinking I was an introvert... turns out, I was just afraid of judgment. 😳 If you’ve ever questioned your personality type, this one’s for you. Are you a real introvert or just afraid to show a truer side of yourself? Let’s talk.👇 Let me know your thoughts on this video format! My plan is to write a long form essay every few weeks, and post couple 2-5 minute videos like...

Happy Sunday! Today is January 26, 2025, I am on my way out to walk my dog, who is making his presence known to me by grumbling by my feet. But before I go, I want to share a thought I’ve been holding onto this week. Check out this 5-minute video. After you’ve listened to it, let me know what comes to mind when you hear the ideas behind this video. I truly would love to know! I’m going to be writi...

Hi friends! I hope you’re well. I want to share a video I recently made about anxiety. I’ll be posting more video content in the future, so make sure to let me know what you think! If you liked this video, you’ll love my long-form essay “Understanding Anxiety: Why It’s Not All in Your Head” coming out tomorrow, Monday, November 18th, 2024. Ever feel like your anxiety isn’t just in your head? 🙋‍♀️...