It's a bottle episode
An excuse to toot my own horn (and a few others too)
noun. plural bottle episodes. : an inexpensively produced episode of a television series that is typically confined to one setting.
No original content from me this week because, quite frankly, I am an empty cup.
And while I fully intend to take the rest of December to refill, here’s a quick rundown of some of the highlights from the Conversations By The Sea universe in 2023.
In June, I reached 1,000 subscribers and this number has continued to grow as I have returned to my weekly slot in your inbox. While I maintain that I will never trap myself into a certain niche, I did successfully summarise what this newsletter is all about:
I write about mental health for the chronically online.
So, with that in mind, here are some of my most popular issues from 2023.
And, since it’s not all about me, here are some pieces from my fellow Substack writers that I’ve absolutely loved reading this year. I highly recommend you subscribe to all of them immediately.
on how to stop (finally) people pleasing
Nia of Not Controversial on the endless cycle of buying stuff.
on work/life balance in motherhood
A late addition from
for this week’s piece on Brianna Ghey’s murder trial and the conversations in schools about social transitioning.
The soppy bit
I want to take this opportunity to thank every single one of my subscribers. When I first launched this newsletter in March 2020, I never thought I’d ever have over a thousand subscribers with regular readers and commenters.
In 2022, I became a mother and, in 2023, I found myself again.
Last year was a turbulent one, as I worked through my non-existent maternity period, keeping a business afloat and raising a tiny baby and two rescue dogs with my husband, Craig.
This year, thanks to our amazing clients and the wonderful place that is nursery, I have been able to return to my passion of writing for fun. While commercial copywriting feeds the mouths, this newsletter feeds my soul, and I will only be continuing in this vein in 2024 and beyond.
What to expect in 2024
In January, I will be running a month-long series entitled New Year Same Me. This aims to be an antidote to the inevitable influx of New Year's resolutions and social pressures to suddenly become the happiest, healthiest, skinniest, and absolute best versions of ourselves.
I’ve written about my own identity crisis in the wake of motherhood before. And now I feel much more at home in who I am as a person. Sure, I’m a parent and a wife, but I am also a daughter, a friend and a sister. But these are just ways in which I relate to other people, and no single one of these sits at the core of my identity.
So, for the whole month of January, I’ll be exploring the topic of identity. In true Ellen fashion, I am yet to determine what the series will look like, but you’ll definitely still get a weekly email from me diving deep into the world of New Year’s expectations and what that really means for our mental health.
Want to collab in 2024?
If you write on Substack and feel that we’re on similar missions, then I’d love to hear from you. I am looking for writers to collaborate with, whether that’s for guest posts, sponsorships or interviews, I think now really is the time to embrace to wider writing community and work together to get our messages out there.
That’s all from me this year, so I will see you again on 4th January with more introspection, self-deprecation, Simpsons gifs and Touching Grass.
Have a great break!
Ellen x
First, I've always loved the phrase/concept of a bottle episode ever since I first heard it in Community (great show, that one).
Second, thank you so much for including me in this list! <3 Your edition on gendered rest (how women really don't rest at all!) was one of my favourite reads of 2023 and I linked to it in my first issue of 2024 — need more people to read & realize how awful that is.
Thank you millions for the mention Ellen! You are forever my newsletter inspo! Congratulations on another great year of Conversations by the Sea and achieving 1k of followers! I look forward to your posts each week and am excited to see more in 2024! Hope you and your family take a well earned break over the hols and have a wonderful Christmas ❤️