The power of a small community

and an extended discount

Thanks for being here! Subscribe as a member of The Hyphen for £20 for the whole year (it’s usually £69).

I’m sitting on a large sofa in rural Wales in front of a roaring fire. I just hosted a creativity retreat in a beautiful hideaway in the Black Mountains with panoramic views. Now I’m alone digesting everything that just happened. Eight guests have just left to make their various journeys home. One guest travelled from Canada, another from America. Other guests travelled from Lancashire, London and a nearby town in Wales. We arrived as strangers, we are leaving as friends. Most of us had first connected via Substack.

It always amazes me how you can attract like-minded people when you write from the heart and show up as yourself. The energy felt just right. Everyone listened, shared and supported each other; genuinely interested in everyone’s different story. I took guests through my Creative Unblocking workshop, we went on walks, watched a film and enjoyed time in front of the fire. I even surprised everyone with the arrival of a guest writer (who I adore) and interviewed them in a cosy Q&A in the living room and the conversation injected us all with so many ideas and inspiration.

In a world of endless ‘content’ and newsfeeds, sometimes all we need is the opportunity to sit around a table with understanding people and cups of tea. The team behind-the-scenes helped everything run smoothly and offered lovely added touches (even offering to bring guests a morning cup of tea/coffee to their room! Bliss). Goody bags involved gifts from The School of Life, Papier and Ozone coffee.

I never really enjoyed doing big live events back when I did my podcast, I much prefer a smaller, more intimate group. Connection. I don’t do that many retreats (I believe they should be rare and special — and I’m an introvert), but I love doing them. These retreats are simply an IRL extension of what I offer here on Substack.

The Hyphen is all about the inner circle community, I rarely broadcast my newsletters more widely anymore. Every so often I offer a big discount to include anyone who might need it and want to join.

For a few hours, I’m offering you 70% off — that’s £20 for the whole year. Your special link is here. Feel free to come and introduce yourself here — and we will connect about all things wellbeing, writing and doing work that we love. It’s my favourite corner of the Internet and I’d love to invite you in.

Growing a community of curious readers is the goal of The Hyphen and all the best bits are behind the paywall (posts, comment sections, threads, retreat announcements, community spirit!) When you sign up as a member, you’ll receive my Sunday Scroll (every other weekend) which is a round-up of links (of what I’m reading, loving, watching, listening to). Since being here on Substack for almost three years, I’m realizing how little connection many other platforms actually give us.

Subscribe as a member of The Hyphen newsletter for £20 for the whole year (it’s usually £69) via this special link (it will be available for a few hours only).

Hope to chat more soon! xo