Hello.
I’m Amy Abrahams. A freelance writer and journalist. I’ve written for titles including Stylist, Vogue, Glamour, Women’s Health and Red and I’m slowly working on a novel. I also happen to have two children.
Welcome to Tiny Chaos.
I didn’t want to write a newsletter about motherhood. I really tried not to. But that’s when I realised I probably should. You see, I didn’t want to alienate people. Certainly not people uninterested in this business of parenting - because that’s a lot of people. A lot of people I enjoy writing and talking to, a lot of people I know and like. But then I realised that right now, in my own life, most things are viewed through some lens of parenthood. Even if it seems completely unrelated.
With two young children (one is two years old, the other is four), how much time I have to write, how my body looks and feels, how successful my friendships are, how much money I can earn, how I process the news, how I relax, how I stress (etcetera etcetera, you get the idea) all feel impacted by this heady time of child-rearing. Not to mention that much of what I do and how I think about myself connects to how I feel I conform or rebel against the pedestalling of motherhood and the notion of perfect parenting.
So there’s no escaping it – this IS my life, and this newsletter is an extension of my thoughts. So that’s where we are. And where we are now is here: Tiny Chaos.
That’s not to say I’ll be offering parenting advice here - NO WAY. I’m not going to tell you how to raise your kids, let alone whether you should even have them. In fact, even if you don’t have kids, or they’re all grown up, I hope this newsletter might still offer something of interest - even if it’s just a different perspective on life. Because actually, it is life - in all its messy, glorious, confusing, beautiful complexity - that I really am interested in here. The chaos. The daily tiny chaos that surrounds us and what I learn through navigating life with my own two tiny architects of chaos. I am interested in interrogating these tiny chaoses and writing about the small things that don’t (but actually often do) really matter. I am not going to be responding endlessly to current affairs or trends, let alone creating trends myself; consider this newsletter a space for mulling over life; slow thoughts (not breaking news); a place for honesty, some taboo-busting. A place to not feel alone. To feel seen. And, I hope, a place to enjoy.
Why subscribe?
Because I hope you’ll find what I say interesting or relatable and that you will like getting a little piece of writing from me each week direct in your inbox.
When I had my first child, some new friends (who happened to also have just become mothers) and I would leave long voice notes to each other exploring our joyful/anxious/curious thoughts that arrived in our head at 3am when the baby wouldn’t stop crying or after a sleepless night or while pushing around a pram. These helped me survive. These helped me make sense of it all, or at least find allies in the chaos. So this is what I hope to do for you too.
In fact, I will be offering a special recording of all posts for paid subscribers only - so that you don’t even have to read what I’m writing, you can listen to it as you’re doing all the million things you probably feel you need to do. I’ll keep you posted on that, and other future paid-subscriber-only features as and when I reel them out.
Why pay for some stuff?
Because writers pour their soul (and time) into their words and yet we get paid so little for it. I really gave Instagram so much of myself, writing long, deeply personal captions, and now I’m trying to take back ownership of where and how I communicate, place value on those words, and build a connection with my readers that’s not dictated by an algorithm that ultimately knows so little about me (and you). Consider a paid subscription like putting money in a tip jar – if you like what you read each week, any help to support the work is hugely appreciated.
A note on the name Tiny Chaos.
I am indebted to one of my favourite Substack writers, Hayley Nahman, who in this piece put these two words together while describing the stress of first using her Metrocard in New York. It’s actually a brilliant post full of advice on how to find writing inspiration, so it’s perfect that while reading it – and in the back of my mind, mulling over what to call my new newsletter – these words popped out at me. Tiny Chaos so excellently describes life with children and the type of things I like to write about. So thank you, Hayley.
