Hello and welcome👋
My name is Kaitlyn and I’m a former teacher who is now a reader and writer, particularly focused on the dangers of the self-help industry.
I found myself in this space almost by accident. After being a high-school English teacher for nearly six years, I found myself burnt out and in the worst mental and physical health of my life. I quit and it remains the best decision I’ve ever made.
However, that didn’t mean that my passion for education went away. I continued educating through my writing and work as a freelance writer, journalist, and photographer. It was during this time when I was self-employed, that I stumbled (by design) into the world of girl bosses and self-help.
I listened to every podcast. I read every book. And I couldn’t figure out why everything I consumed felt…wrong. And why nothing was working.
So I decided to educate myself. Instead of reading self-help books, I read books about sociology, political systems, and deliberate inequality. And I found the truth: the self-help industry wasn’t built to help people, it was built to profit off of vulnerable individuals forced into systems that suppressed their basic needs.
Which bring me to today and this Substack. I hope to keep reading and keep learning while educating you (along with myself) while I do it. We’ll tackle the most popular self-help books and gurus to decode their messaging to see what they’re really saying, why it’s harmful, and what a real solution could look like.
Let’s start exposing the self-help industry and changing the narrative together,
Want to join me?
Resources & links
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