A Liminal Year in Review

A look back at a year of writing, two polls, and a question.

When I started writing here at A Liminal Life in late 2022, I wasn’t sure how this space would take shape. I knew I was feeling a pull away from the vicissitudes of social media, and a draw to capture my experiences in words and in a space where I could connect with others more authentically. I knew I wanted a place to share our incredible digital nomad adventure, as well as other things I’m passionate about: reading, sustainability, and so much more.

Writing here on Substack has become one of my joyous works, and it’s been a source of joy for me, too, to see new subscribers coming into my little corner of the internet, sharing your own comments and stories and reflections, and supporting my writing. I’ve also enjoyed connecting with so many creative minds and discovering new writers through the Substack network.

So, I thought it would be fun to look back at the past year in numbers and data: here’s what happened in 2023 on A Liminal Life. And, I’d love to ask for your input: I’ve included two polls below, so please don’t miss the opportunity to help guide my writing in the year ahead.

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Over the course of 2023 (and not including this wrap-up), I shared 53 pieces of writing here on A Liminal Life.

Of these pieces, just over half—52%—were travel essays and destination features. (You’ll see all of these collected on the “Destinations” page.)

33% of my posts were reflections, whether on my digital nomad lifestyle, or in some cases, posts drawn from or inspired by previous writing projects or life chapters. (You’ll find all of these on the “Reflections” page.)

And, a mere 11% spoke to my love of reading, with my bimonthly “Books & Beyond” posts and a few other related essays.

The remaining posts introduced my “Winter is Coming” series.

These 53 articles included nearly 60,000 newly-written words (I did not word-count my From the Archives posts, since I was curious about how much new writing I did over the course of a year.)

My longest piece was 2290 words, while my shortest was a mere 539. On average, I write about 1240 words in a newly published piece.

I don’t pay too much attention to Substack’s data analytics—this is overwhelmingly a passion project, not a profit one—but it’s fun to see which posts resonate the most or result in new people discovering my writing.

Here are some of your favorite posts from the past year:

The post that inspired the most free subscriptions:

Living homefree*

This is likely because it was one of my first broadly shared posts, rather than the subject matter itself, but I’m glad to see that this topic was one that you enjoyed enough to stick around for awhile. 😀

The post that inspired the most paid subscribers:

So you want to be a digital nomad....

Another early, big idea post that laid the foundation for our year ahead. Thanks to everyone who jumped in with paid support right from the beginning!

The posts that elicited the most comments (a 4-way tie!):

Japan: A long-awaited adventure

Forest Bathing in Nikko

Rest, FOMO, and the life of an Enneagram 7

Books & Beyond: May and June

You loved hearing about Japan, life on the road, and summer reading. These are a few of my favorite posts from the past year, too.

The post that Substack tells me is the most popular:

Three things I'm doing to deal with seasonal disconnect

I’m so honored that this post struck a chord, because it was one I felt so inspired by writing, and spoke so deeply to some of the less shiny and exciting elements of the digital nomad life. I’m excited about a follow-up post I’m working on about my experience of mid-summer Christmas, so I hope you’ll enjoy that one, too.

What’s next?

As I plan my writing for 2023, a major new feature will be my Winter is Coming series for paid subscribers. But I’d love to know—what do you enjoy most? What brings you back excitedly to read my new posts? Please let me know:

As I look ahead to 2024, I already have some great ideas in draft that I can’t wait to write, and I’m really excited about sharing my new Winter is Coming series, taking a deeper look back at our years in Montana building an off-grid home and learning the lessons along the way.

We have some exciting things on the horizon in 2024 — more travel, more SCUBA diving, as well as some other long-term projects that are starting to come to shape. One thing this year has taught me, if nothing else, is to be much more comfortable living in the liminality.

Thanks for being here with me through it all.

Can I make one parting request?

I’d love to know which writer here on Substack you’ve loved most this past year. Would you leave a comment and link to their page? I’m always excited about finding new voices and discovering accounts with something exciting, meaningful, inspirational, or just downright fun to share. I’d love to know who is delivering one (or many) of those things to you lately, so I can follow along, too.

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Paid supporters ($6/month or $60/year) receive my 2024 series “Winter is Coming” in addition to my regular posts which are available to all subscribers for the first week after publication. If you would like to support my writing but would prefer to avoid a subscription model, you can also support me by buying me a (virtual) coffee or sharing my writing with a friend.