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spring 2021 • issue 1 • self-discovery
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Journal
A Dwelling Place For Childless Women In Every Season
The Path to Self-Discovery
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What Is Self-Discovery?
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How I Survived Infertility Without Losing My Faith
Podcaster BonnieRuth Rolf reveals how she kept her faith during one of the darkest moments of her life.
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Healing The Wounds of Perinatal Loss
Author Sasha Kershaw Reid and the founder of Perinatal Loss & Involuntary Childlessness Alliance, advises on coping with pregnancy loss.
Cover Photo: ELENA ZHURAVLEVA
CONTENTS
Self-discovery coach Sara Katherine breaks down how to better understand who you are and how you can improve your life.
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Living Alone During A Pandemic
Three single childless women in America reflect on their lowest moments to the most enlightening lessons while living alone during a pandemic.
in every issue Page 4
CONTRIBUTORS Page 5 Page 16
3 Steps To Kick-Start A Life You Love
EDITOR’S LETTER Page 5
A 3-step blueprint worksheet to get unstuck and live your best life.
TUTUM SURVEY
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Readers reveal what they think about key subjects relevant to the childless community.
8 Women Around The World Share How They Cope With Childlessness Eight women around the world share how they cope with childlessness, and how they forged their path to healing.
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Finding Your Place In A Mother-Centric World Four women reveal how they discovered fulfilling lives beyond childlessness.
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NAVIGATING AGING Exploring topics, gaining new perspectives, advice, and relevant information associated with women aging without children.
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GAME CHANGER Spotlighting the achievements of childless/childfree women.
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Reclaiming the B-Word
MEDICAL AWAKENING
Katy Lindemann of Uber Barrens Club talks about her reclamation movement for the word, ‘barren.’
Examines medical conditions and relevant information of interest to childless/childfree women.
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Write Your Life: Start With Journaling
BRIDGING THE GAP
Author coach Anita Henderson shares how journaling leads you to explore the depths of who you are and to learn from what you discover.
A Q&A column to bridge the gap between childless/childfree women and industry experts.
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90 Days To Begin Your Self-Discovery Journey
TUTUM FAVORITES
On your road to self-discovery, these Cognitive Behavioral Therapyinspired journal prompts will help you to get to know and love yourself.
Highlights products from childless/childfree female business owners.
VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1, Tutum Journal™ (ISSN 2766-9580) is published quarterly by Tutum Global. For more information about Tutum Journal, please visit us at www.tutumjournal.com, or email us at info@tutumjournal.com. www.tutumjournal.com
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DISCOVERY?
WHAT IS
SELF
BY SARA KATHERINE
P
ersonal development has been growing in popularity within the last couple of years. Whether it’s books,
Let’s get down to basics and explore all of the different exciting aspects of self-discovery:
podcasts, or inspirational documentaries, people are
seeking a better understanding of who they are and how they can improve their life. A huge part of this personal growth movement is self-discovery. Traditionally, self-discovery is simply known as discovering something about yourself, which is easy enough to understand. Most people associate self-discovery with taking a personality test or doing some deep soul searching to figure out your dream job. However, self-discovery goes way beyond just finding out your personality type or your perfect job. In fact, selfdiscovery is almost every aspect of personal development. While yes, the previous examples do fall under this umbrella, what many don’t know is just how deep self-discovery can go when exploring these parts of personal development.
Discovering Your Passions Is there anything in your life that you can happily spend time on for hours and completely lose track of your day? Discovering your passions is one of the most exciting parts of self-exploration because there can be a wide range of possibilities that you aren’t even aware of yet. Plus, they can change and develop as you evolve. If you’re not quite sure if you have any passions, simply take 10 minutes a day to explore something that interests you. This could be anything, like researching a new hobby or signing up for an art class. Maybe you invested in a fancy camera in the past and it’s been collecting dust for too long? Take it out, look up some online tutorials and start dedicating some time to see if this interest transforms into something bigger. Pursuing new passions is a wonderful and exciting way to learn more about yourself and bring more joy and positive change into your life.
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TUTUM JOURNAL spring 2021
Finding Out What Motivates You
about who you are and what you want in life requires positive
For those days you feel stuck in a rut and need that kick-start
gain and lose relationships with others as you grow older.
towards productivity, it’s helpful to have an arsenal of tactics
Certain people fit into specific times in your life, and when
that help you feel motivated again. Do you know any quotes
you grow into a new stage, some friends may not fit your new
that resonate with you? Maybe some songs help light the fire?
needs.
How about meditation techniques to help you clear your mind and find focus for productivity?
people who fit into the life you’re living. This is why you may
If you’re unsure about what you need and if your relationships are a positive fit in your life, take some time to evaluate your
There is an abundance of articles online about finding
values. What’s important to you in life? What do you think
motivation, but only you can discover what truly resonates and
creates a healthy friendship? Once you’ve pinpointed these
works for you the best.
needs, take a look at the people in your life and see if they fit into what you’ve written down. You may discover some of your
Figuring Out Your Purpose
relationships aren’t serving you in the way you need.
What are you meant to do in your lifetime? This doesn’t
Discovering Your Mental Capabilities
necessarily mean what you are “meant to do” for your career, but more of what purpose do you feel you need to serve to
Mental health is slowly becoming more and more acceptable
make an impact in the world?
to talk about on a more casual level than in the years past,
Now I know that sounds rather intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be scary. Making an impact during your lifetime could be something even as simple as reaching out to one person to
which is fantastic progress for such an important topic. With that in mind, now is the best time to spend time reflecting on your mental health and capabilities.
help brighten their day with your radiant smile and positivity.
What does this mean, you ask? Well, while some people may
Sure, some people may find their purpose to be something
be aware of any mental health issues or struggles with anxiety
huge like selling all their belongings and moving to another
or depression, we ALL need to be in tune with our mind and
country to help conserve the environment, and that’s great
heart. When you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or simply a
too! Not one person’s purpose is better than another’s. What
bit off, those are signs that your mind, heart, and soul are trying
matters is you are creating a positive difference and feeling
to let you know you need to take time for self-care.
aligned with your soul in the process.
Keep an eye on your triggers and don’t be afraid to turn inward
Discovering your purpose doesn’t come at any specific time
when you’re feeling off or overwhelmed. Learning more about
in life. Don’t pressure yourself to have it all figured out right
yourself and your mental capabilities will help you not only
now. Regardless of age, you have so much life left to explore. I
feel more connected with your inner self but also create an
recommend simply following what feels good and even asking
effective strategy for preventing future breakdowns or simply
your friends what types of activities help you shine like the
feel more mentally balanced on a more consistent basis.
beautiful human you are. Stay curious, and you’ll never know what you’ll discover about yourself.
Learning What You Need In Relationships Whether you’re in a relationship with a significant other or spend time with important friendships, you will have needs and expectations that are different than anyone else. This is another part of you that can change over time, learning more
Essentially, self-discovery is an all-encompassing journey of getting to know yourself better, what makes you tick, and how you go about life.
Sara Katherine (@sarakatherineblog) is an author and selfdiscovery coach. This article has been adapted from a longer feature appearing on www.sara-katherine.com
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