Reading · Beyond Liquid Courage

Happy… Father’s Day?? Today’s one of my least favorite days of the year. I’m terrible. How are you?

It’s difficult to describe the invisible wounds of abandonment trauma. I appear healthy and happy from the outside, because I am, but I’m also extremely not. Hallmark Holidays like this one trigger emotional flare-ups that consume my entire being.

We Should Get Together — queen ilana from broad city

I was raised by a single mom, and I often bought her cards for both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Even as a kid, I could see the stress she carried. I also carry emotions that weigh more than I can deadlift. And so do the countless others whose coat of grief feels especially heavy on days like these.

In these moments of insurmountable emotional pain, I turn to art that comforts me. Nourishment from artists whose emotional scars resemble my own inspires me to pick up my own creative tools.

Enter… Daddy Issues Quarterly, a magazine cover series I accidentally created over the last few months to process these flare-ups in a healthy, humorous way.

It’s a fake magazine fueled by real emotions.

“This is the shit I used to drink over!” I proudly said to my therapist after showing her this project. “I now have words to describe how I feel, meds to help me deal with this pain in a healthy way, and a supportive husband to show me what healthy love looks like.” We both laugh-cried, reflecting on our nearly decade-long work together.

this first one poured out of me. i had no plans to create a series. it just felt good to put these words somewhere.

you can see how issue 2 builds on what i created in issue 1. i added jokes, even teaching this as a writing prompt in my mental health writing class, encouraging students to create their own version. it turned into a fun lesson on laughing at our pain then turning that levity into quippy headlines.

can you tell i grew up reading teen mags then became a mental health journalist?!

creating *the father’s day issue* inspired me to share this whole series publicly.

Feel free to share Daddy Issues Quarterly with anyone who may dig it.

XO,

Tawny

🎧 P.S. I made a playlist filled with songs about the artists’ relationships with their fathers.

🤘🏽 Tawny Lara is your favorite writing teacher’s favorite writing teacher.

She teaches ethical, sustainable approaches to storytelling, media strategy, and self-promotion. She’s the author of Dry Humping: A Guide to Dating, Relating, and Hooking Up Without the Booze, co-author of The Sobriety Deck, and co-founder of (parentheses) botanical beverages.

Tawny reports on mental health, the non-alcoholic drink movement, and publishing/media trends through a pop culture lens. Her Substack, Beyond Liquid Courage, is a mix of voicey hot takes and industry insights. Come hang!

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👔Daddy Issues Quarterly

🤘🏽 Tawny Lara is your favorite writing teacher’s favorite writing teacher.

She teaches ethical, sustainable approaches to storytelling, media strategy, and self-promotion. She’s the author of Dry Humping: A Guide to Dating, Relating, and Hooking Up Without the Booze, co-author of The Sobriety Deck, and co-founder of (parentheses) botanical beverages.

Tawny reports on mental health, the non-alcoholic drink movement, and publishing/media trends through a pop culture lens. Her Substack, Beyond Liquid Courage, is a mix of voicey hot takes and industry insights. Come hang!

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