HeyJaredMy Sweet Dumb Brain
A newsletter about facing life's ups and downs, all while being kind to yourself.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 9
- Latest publication
- Sep 15, 2026
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- Jul 7, 2026
Latest issues
I made a tough decision (opens the original)
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I don’t have it in me to come up with a clever opening.Life feels particularly complicated right now, and I’ve made the tough decision to pause paid subscriptions and take an indefinite break from writing this newsletter. One piece of advice for tumultuous times is to avoid making big decisions or commitments, and I’m going to practice that here. I may return one day with fresh perspectives and lessons to share. I might not. I’m keeping my options open.It’s interesting to navigate a somewhat pub
You can do hard things — but you can’t do them alone (opens the original)
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Hi friends,Are you tired of me vaguely alluding to a hard time? Are you wondering what the heck is going on?Me too.I don’t have the answers you’re looking for today. But I do have a lesson to share from the past few days: You can’t do hard things alone.That’s especially true when you’re going through the kind of hard time you can’t quite yet find the words for — except with a few trusted friends and family members.People want to help. There’s nothing quite as
I didn’t want to show up this month (opens the original)
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Not every day is a purple apple day (opens the original)
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My child is officially a kindergartner, now in her third week of school.She’s already got a new best friend, a favorite specials class, and strong opinions on cafeteria offerings. She brings home updates about daily activities, reports on snacks, and various treasure box rewards — typically some sort of plastic trinket that she’s thrilled about, and I’m admittedly less so.But the first item she shares, the first thing she greets us with, is this:“I got another purple apple today!”Like many kinde
It’s fun to be a ghost (opens the original)
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When I’m not writing this newsletter — in other words, when I’m not writing about myself — I’m usually writing for someone else.As a freelancer, I work with a variety of clients. I write case studies, fundraising pitches, impact reports, and blog posts. I help CEOs find their voices and local newsrooms find donors. Some of these things I write with a byline. Most of them, lately, I write without my name attached.Somewhere along the way, I became a ghostwriter.I had no idea how freeing that would
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