Welcome to Permission Slip, from Nadine Araksi

So glad you’re here!

This space used to be called I Heart Stories — an earnest name for an earnest beginning. But after reading your comments, emails, and reflections, I saw the pattern:

We’re all waiting.
For clarity. For validation. For permission to take up space.

So I decided to stop waiting.

✨ Welcome to Permission Slip — a space for Gen X and Millennial women to rewrite the rules, trust themselves, and take up space, unapologetically — one permission slip at a time.

What We Talk About Here

Here’s where we embrace acceptance or reinvention (choose your own midlife adventure), shake off perfectionism and people-pleasing, and unpack midlife’s weird, wonderful messiness, including:

• Perimenopause & aging (“WTF is happening to me?”)

• ADHD & brain fog (“Why did I come in here again?”)

• The Sandwich Generation squeeze (it’s more like a panini press)

• The slow breakup with people-pleasing (spoiler: it’s never fully over)

Through essays, cultural commentary, and practical wisdom, we’re unpacking midlife with humour, heart, and zero tolerance for outdated expectations. (Hey, we survived dial-up internet and chat rooms — we can handle anything.)

Who am I & why should you read my Substack?

I’m Nadine Araksi — a writer, editor, and life & biz coach helping women articulate their next chapter, on the page & in life. With bylines in Chatelaine, Maclean’s, Today’s Parent, and more, I bring deep experience in storytelling, identity, and reinvention.

Last year, when I turned 50, I realized a dream of being published in a book!

Like you, I’m navigating midlife’s twists and turns — late-diagnosed neurodivergence, (peri)menopause, parenting young adults, and trying to find joy and creativity in this hellscape. I don’t have all the answers, but I do have a knack for asking the right questions — and giving you permission to find your own.

What you’ll find here at Permission Slip:

✨ Personal essays that make you feel seen and understood
✨ Smart, relatable takes on identity, relationships, and aging
✨ Encouragement to stop apologizing and start owning your story
✨ A warm, witty community of women rewriting the midlife script together
✨ Main character energy optional (but encouraged)

If you’ve ever felt stuck between who you were supposed to be and who you actually are — this space is for you.

Subscribe for free, or pledge your support to motivate me to create even more goodness for our parentified (raised-by-wolves), perfectionist generation.

Either way, permission granted.

XOXO,

Nadine

📬 Let’s keep in touch! Follow me on Instagram and Bluesky for more thoughts, behind-the-scenes updates, and the occasional nostalgic meme.

🔗 Want to work with me? Learn about my writing and coaching services. I help thoughtful, driven women and brands articulate their next chapter — on the page & in life.