Flourish Anyway® Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls Weekly Roundup No. 1
Reflections, checkups, book notes, and artful links for writers, artists, and creative souls who want to move toward more goodness while acknowledging the current reality.
Flourish Anyway® Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls Weekly Roundup Series is a weekly roundup at the intersection of spirituality, creativity, and everyday life. On Sundays, I share a look back at past writing (with fresh notes), what I’m loving right now (books, essays, art, Daily Nourishment offerings, and more), and what I’m looking forward to across my writing and work with writers, artists, and other creative souls who want to move toward more goodness while acknowledging the current reality.
Here’s a list of my full email offerings and a note to former Charlotte Donlon Newsletter subscribers:
—Flourish Anyway® Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls Weekly Roundups will go out every Sunday. This replaces the former general update email newsletter sent via my charlottedonlon.com website. All subscribers from that email newsletter have been migrated to this Substack Weekly Roundup. Please Note: The CSV File included everyone who had ever subscribed, so please feel free to unsubscribe if you like!
In addition to this Substack Weekly Roundup, I have two more subscription options:
—Spiritual Direction for Writers® updates go out every weekend to people who have subscribed via spiritualdirectionforwriters.com and focus on SDW offerings, announcements, FREE co-writing sessions, etc. You can subscribe here for all things SDW.
—Take More Retreats updates will start going out every Friday to people who have subscribed via takemoreretreats.com and will focus on Take More Retreats offerings, book announcements, and pitch and submissions windows. You can subscribe here for all things TMR.
1. A Look Back >
“How Can You Flourish in Your Writing and Other Creative Practices?”
Published a few weeks ago over at Flourish Anyway.
“All of life is the writing life. While we aren’t actively writing, we are being formed to be the people we will be when the time to write again presents itself.”
The All of Life Is the Writing Life mantra and related ideas are all over my writing and spiritual direction sessions. It works for any creative practice. All of life is the music life. All of life is the painting life.
It works for anything, really. All of life is the basketball life. All of life is the skating life.
This idea is foundational to all of my writing and Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls work because we are always being formed to be the people we will be when it’s time to do the thing we will do.
For the past few weeks, while I was feeling more and more resistance in starting this Flourish Anyway® Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls Weekly Roundup Substack Series, I knew that the resistance and my exploration of and curiosity about that resistance would move me closer to where I’d need to be when it was time to do the thing.
I didn’t force my way through to the other side. I kept sitting with it. I kept asking questions and imagining what I wanted this space to be. I kept noticing what my heart, mind, and soul were saying this space did not need to be.
I’ve realized it would be helpful to have a place to show up and provide updates from my other websites, reflections, checkups, book notes, and artful links for writers, artists, caregivers, pastors, therapists, and creative souls who want to flourish anyway and move toward more goodness while acknowledging the current reality.
So here we are. The idea and structure solidified late last week. And today I’m finally who I need to be to release the first Flourish Anyway® Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls Weekly Roundup out into the world.
2. What I’m Loving Right Now >
The Come Apart by Susannah Felts > > > I will share more about this book one day (soon, I hope!) but for now, I’ll say that this fantastic book has helped me feel less alone in my creative life. Following the creative, spiritual, and relational journeys of the protagonist gave me so much insight into my own creativity, faith, and relationships. Also I love the writing. And there’s so much music and many artful encounters throughout the whole book, so I was pretty much in heaven while reading this book.
The Spiritual Direction for Writers® Daily Nourishment offerings are giving me life right now. This past week I started using quotes from the forthcoming book as the bones of each daily offering. I add questions that aren’t in the book. And I’ll layer in resources and books from others that Spiritual Direction for Writers is in conversation with. I’m really enjoying creating these new SDW Daily Nourishment Pauses, Prompts, and Practices.
Here are a few if you want to check them out:
> > > Belong, Become, Behold, Bestow: A Guided Reflection for Writers and Creative Souls
> > > Before You Begin: A Guided Reflection for a New Writing Session
> > > Begin Where You Are: A Guided Reflection for Writers, Journalers, and Creative Souls
And I keep returning to my photos from the recent Helen Frankenthaler exhibition I saw at Gagosian during my last trip to New York. Swoon.
Helen Frankenthlaer, Gamut, 1968
3. What I’m Looking Forward To >
Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life is coming from Here Below Books on September 3. The book launch readings, conversations, and gatherings are going to be amazing. More details and links coming soon, but here’s some of what’s in store in the next several weeks and months:
Take More Retreats Volume One is about to be a real book. FINALLY! The Founders Edition is going to be mailed to all current preorders this week, AND we will begin accepting pitches for future volumes of Take More Retreats anthologies very soon. The for real launch for Take More Retreats Volume One is coming March 2, 2027. To learn more and stay in the know, you can preorder the book now or subscribe to the new Take More Retreats email newsletter here.
This week, I’ll lead a group spiritual direction session with the Spiritual Direction for Writers® Summer Intensive Cohort. And I’m hosting a handful of SDW Co-Writing Sessions this week. (SDW Co-Writing is FREE to all SDW Subscribers, so subscribe here to stay in the know and receive the schedule each week. Please email me at charlotte@charlottedonlon.com if you have any questions.)
If you’re interested in Group Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls, you can see the upcoming sessions here. And you can learn more about this offering here.
4. Follow Me on Substack Notes >
I look forward to sharing Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls Checkups on Substack Notes beginning today, Sunday, July 19. Make sure you follow me over on Substack Notes to see those Checkups and other things I might share throughout each day at the intersection of art, faith, and belonging.
Much love to the creative souls. Thanks so much for being here! Cheers to all of the Substack Roundups and Checkups and whatnot coming our way.
💚 Charlotte
Charlotte Donlon is a writer, spiritual director, and gatherer whose work centers on helping people explore themes of belonging, artful encounters, spiritual growth, and how to Flourish Anyway®, even when life is full, busy, or chaotic. Her work has woven together themes of belonging, art, and soul exploration for more than 25 years. With a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing (2015-2018), a certificate in spiritual direction (2018-2020), and a life coach certification (2026), Charlotte guides writers and other creative souls in developing sanctuaries of acceptance and connection.
A Christian in the Episcopal church who believes the tenets of the Nicene Creed, Charlotte employs a universal framework of belonging and connection in her spiritual direction work. She fosters meaningful, soulful conversations and gatherings that are welcoming to all—regardless of faith tradition or spiritual inclinations.
In 2020, Broadleaf Books published Charlotte’s first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life is slated for release by Here Below Books in September 2026. Some of volumes of Charlotte’s “Guidebooks for the Soul”—Take More Retreats, The Great Belonging Project, and Belonging Through Art —will also be published in the coming months.
As the founder of several initiatives—including Spiritual Direction for Writers®, Parenting with Art®, Belonging Through Art™, and Spiritual Direction for Creative Souls™—Charlotte has established herself as a thought leader and an authentic presence at the intersection of creativity and spirituality. Her essays have been featured in publications such as The Washington Post, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, and The Millions, among others. A new essay about art conservation, Joan Mitchell, and mystery is forthcoming with Image journal.
For those interested in staying updated on Charlotte’s latest work, news, and insights, subscribe to her Substack Weekly Roundup Series and visit Flourish Anyway®, Charlotte’s online hub for all of her writing, spiritual direction, small press, gatherings, and other offerings.
I appreciate these kind and thoughtful words about TCA so very much, Charlotte! ✨💛