Hi. Hey. Hello!

A little intro post // being brave

Hi.

I’m Chloe.

I’m a writer, photographer, therapist, traveller, book-lover and dreamer (in no particular order). Mostly I like to think of myself as a story collector. And a storyteller.

I’m also a mama to three incredible teenage daughters (and two cats); I am insatiably curious about everyone and everything; and I have an incurable case of wanderlust (seriously, it’s a problem).

Hopefully that gives you a little insight into what you might find if you follow along or subscribe here.

I set up this Substack - We’re All Made Of Stories - just over two years ago at the very end of 2023. I enthusiastically brainstormed twenty SFD (Shitty First Draft) posts, and then published exactly none of them because a/ I let fear get in the way and b/ I promptly spent all of 2024 and 2025 navigating Big Life Stuff that I’ve shared absolutely nowhere online and only out loud with a select few family & friends that I’m closest to.

Now that I’m tentatively emerging from the aftermath, I have a different perspective about many things. The last two+ years have taught me a lot. I’ve reconnected with my inner compass (which took me on some wild and wonderful and wholly necessary scenic routes) and am slowly, gradually, realigning with the me I want to be. I feel like I’m closer to discovering the next new path I want to be on. For now anyway. The future is, of course, a great unknown. Sometimes that’s scary. Sometimes it’s fun. It’s up to me to choose which it’s going to be on any given day.

Today that means doing something about it and being brave and actually hitting the ‘publish’ button. I’ve made a quiet promise to myself to share one post every month this year. And yes, I’m leaving it to the very last minute on the last day of January to share this month’s post because, well… it’s scary, ok? Even though hardly anyone will read this, which is fine. I’m hoping it will grow in time and that people will connect with the stories I share. I firmly believe that connection is key to living a life that feels good and is maybe even the reason we’re all here, right now, on this planet, in this universe.

It has been a very, very long time since I shared any deep, heartfelt, personal pieces of writing. I’ve really missed it. I’ve been writing and telling stories in some format or another since I was a little kid. The words have all been swirling around in my head and they need an outlet, so here we are.

As you might have gathered by now, this Substack is about stories. Mine, mostly, which I’ll be sharing in case any of it helps you to understand yours. Stories of motherhood and love and travel, and joy and grief and therapy, and all the inevitable messiness and infinite magic of being human and existing in this world.

I’ll occasionally share stories of people I’ve met (and am yet to meet) along the way. Sometimes there will be prompts to help you navigate your own stories. Sometimes it’ll be a little lighter, like a list of all my current favourite things that I think you might enjoy too. Some posts will contain lots of photographs (my other favourite way of telling stories), others will be mostly thoughts & feelings spilling out on the page/screen - deeper stuff that maybe doesn’t really fit anywhere else and will still hopefully resonate with whoever it’s supposed to reach.

So, in summary… it’ll be an eclectic mix * shrugs *

Mostly I’m simply aiming to give as much as I can; to create a community of fellow story collectors, storytellers and story seekers; and to offer something thought-provoking or useful with whatever I end up sharing in this space as it evolves.

I’m all-in. I hope that you are too.

Thank you for being here - I can’t wait to hear some of your stories too.