(Not Quite) Losing It Podcast

Melissa Westbrook, Katie Moody, Brynn Barineau
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Arts
  • Weekly

Nurturing your own creative expression is incredibly important, even though the demands of motherhood make it feel impossible sometimes. We are three creative friends encouraging each other and other moms who are fighting not to lose our creative identities. notquitelosingit.substack.com

  1. 5d ago

    Episode 2.09 Week 8 of The Artist’s Way

    Okay, for a couple weeks there, we were all feeling a little skeptical and frustrated with Julia, but this chapter offered the refreshing, realistic, practical advice we all needed to hear: Making even tiny shift in your creative trajectory will have incredible impact on where you land. Don’t be so obsessed with how you would ever afford to chase your dream full-time that you refuse to chase it part-time, or at all. Just do the dang thing, even if you can only do it a little, and enjoy the process, for crying out loud! There’s some really good stuff in there. Plus, this week Brynn lets Melissa play-act at her alternate-life as an art therapist, so that’s fun. OK LOVE YOU BYE!! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com

    Episode 2.09 Week 8 of The Artist’s Way

  2. Oct 21

    Episode 2.08 Week 7 of The Artist’s Way

    Yes, we’ve had a few bones to pick with Julia over the past few weeks. Perhaps a whole skeleton by the time we got to the horse comment in the last chapter. But this week, we are in accord with 85% of the chapter. Perfectionism is the common enemy we can all rail against, and Julia’s got some piercing insights to share. Join us as we fight that stupid inner critic that keeps us from making stuff. We’d love to have you on the discord— just send us a note and we’ll send you the link! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com

    Episode 2.08 Week 7 of The Artist’s Way

  3. Oct 14

    Episode 2.07 Week 6 of the Artist’s Way

    Show of hands. Who would like (Not Quite) Losing It to write an artist’s way for people who may or may not believe in God, who may or may not have money and who may or may not have a bajillion children? (We’ll workshop the title.) Once again Julia has some really great advice about the important of paying attention and intentionally incorporating joyful pursuits even in fifteen minute increments or for the cost of a carton of raspberries. She buries these insights under stories about making time for her first horse in a decade. Week 6 of the Artist’s Way is about finances. Julia tries to convince us that God is a God of abundance and wants us to have resources, which was a very hard sell for us considering current statistics on costs living and median income. Melissa does a particularly great job of finding the nuggets of helpful advice nestled between Julia’s suggestion we just haven’t been willing to accept the universe’s gift. The struggle to justify spending money and time (which is money after all) on personal creative pursuits when the bills needs to be paid and your kid needs braces that cost the same as your grandparent first house is very real. That doesn’t mean joy is not worth any investment at all. We think you should buy the raspberries! We also talk about Mel’s big book news! Publishing is a rough journey y’all! See you in the Discord and let us know if you’d like the link to join! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com

    Episode 2.07 Week 6 of the Artist’s Way

  4. Oct 6

    Episode 2.06 Week 5 of The Artist’s Way

    When we recorded this episode, Brynn hadn’t read the chapter and was at the level of tired where everything seems funny, which is, as we all know, a contagious condition. That worked out great because Katie and I, who did read the chapter, were coming in feeling a tad bristly about some of Julia’s claims. Some of her ideas really resonated though. Is it OK, after all, for our creative ambitions to cause inconvenience for the people who love and rely on us? And what if we stopped pretending we already have everything we could ever want, when really, we still have lots of wishes stored up in our middle-aged hearts? In our delirium, we accidentally invented a new cereal, so be sure to look for Ooplseberries on shelves wherever you buy your NQLI merch. Hop on the discord and let us know if your dentist’s brother or your brother’s dentist show up to make your creative dreams come true. OK, LOVE YOU, BYE!!! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com

    Episode 2.06 Week 5 of The Artist’s Way

  5. Sep 29

    Episode 2.05 Week 4 of The Artist’s Way

    In week 4, Julia asks us to take a 7 day reading deprivation as a vehicle for connecting more deeply with ourselves. Brynn refused on principal. Melissa couldn’t find her book but got right on board as soon as she realized it was deprivation week. Katie was so busy that she accidentally participated by virtue of not having any time to read. We all agree that Julia’s intention of getting us to quiet the noise is worth a try, but that in our current social era, our cell phones are the primary culprit. We discussed different ways to quiet the noise and connect more deeply with our inner compass and agreed to continue implementing them in ways that make sense for us. Take a listen and let us know what you think here on Substack or in our Discord. https://discord.gg/nTcb2pS4KN This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com

    Episode 2.05 Week 4 of The Artist’s Way

  6. Sep 22

    Episode 2.04 Week 3 of the Artist’s Way

    Are authors the most masochistic of all artists? Is serendipity God stepping in or are you just finally paying attention? At Katie’s funeral, which one of us will hype her as the undisputed queen of all hype-girls? We ask some big questions while checkin after week three. This week sparked some of the strongest pushback against Julia’s advice and we dig into how privilege plays a role in our ability to find success and simply create art. No, the universe does not make things fall into place just because you try hard. Sorry, Julia. We are in total agreement on how painful criticism can be and the crippling effects shame has on budding artists. Take a listen and let us know what you think here on Substack or in our Discord. https://discord.gg/nTcb2pS4KN Are authors the most masochistic artists? What was your favorite childhood toy? What piece of art gives you goosebumps every time? We want to know! Bonus! If you make it to the end of the episode (it’s long one) you can hear about some upcoming festivals where you can meet Brynn and Katie. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com

    Episode 2.04 Week 3 of the Artist’s Way

  7. Sep 15

    Episode 2.03 Week 2 of the Artist’s Way

    Week 2 inspired some hot takes, our first unanimous disagreement with Julia, and justification for finding the perfect teacup and chair for your life. We also recorded while one of us was getting texts from upstairs reporting the baby’s oxygen levels so is this our most organized episode ever? No. Did we breakdown the chapter, offer our recommendations for the worthwhile tasks, and do the dang thing? Yes, we did. We loved Julia’s advice to pay attention to the world around you. She argues that our capacity to find joy correlates to our ability to pay attention and with that observation she explains to a population of people scrolling their phones why we’re all on Zoloft. Her thoughts on obligations to others and the absence of any mention of family time in this week’s activities made us concerned. We’re pro-community here at (Not Quite)Losing It. Julia, friend, are you ok and how are things with your family? We’d love to hear your thoughts on Week 2! What if any quotes resonated or made you bristle? Join us on Discord for discussion, support and some live hangouts! https://discord.gg/8zN2r6UvN This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com

    Episode 2.03 Week 2 of the Artist’s Way

  8. Sep 8

    Episode 2.02 Week 1 of the Artist’s Way

    We made it through week one with only a single ER visit cutting into those morning pages. We made some important discoveries. The size of the notebook really helps getting through all three of those morning pages. Childfree artist dates are about as likely as a winning lottery ticket, but if you and your kid build Lego space cats together, it is both a parenting and creative win. It’s better to read the week’s activity on Day 1 instead of Day 6 in case there was something you were supposed to be doing all week. We also talk about our monsters, champions, alternate lives and the costumes at DragonCon. Probably the most important takeaway, to paraphrase Julia, is we want progress not perfection and one small thing is better than no things. If you’re short on time and energy, we highlight the most impactful activities for us with the tweaks we had to make in order to complete them. We've got a great community started over on Discord! Come join us! https://discord.gg/xqMVPz4rH This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit notquitelosingit.substack.com

    Episode 2.02 Week 1 of the Artist’s Way
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About

Nurturing your own creative expression is incredibly important, even though the demands of motherhood make it feel impossible sometimes. We are three creative friends encouraging each other and other moms who are fighting not to lose our creative identities. notquitelosingit.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Melissa Westbrook, Katie Moody, Brynn Barineau
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Brynn Barineau
  • Show Website
    (Not Quite) Losing It Podcast

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