Four years ago, just after I started this Substack in July of 2021, I discovered that my then partner of four years had been cheating on me, lying to me, and much more. I wrote about my body’s reaction to these many betrayals four months later, in November of 2021, here deborahcopaken.substack…. At the end of this essay, I described a frightening moment on a stand-up paddle board in Greece, soon after that breakup, during which the wind blew me out to sea. Which felt like an apt metaphor for where both I and my body were at that time: adrift, alone, unable to find my way back to shore.

It took me three whole years to process those 2021 betrayals into a cogent essay, which you all not only read and shared thousands of times, it was the essay that kickstarted this publication into an actual, sustainable career. deborahcopaken.substack…

Two days ago, on a vacation in Maine for a friend’s 60th birthday, I had the most stunning and calm stand-up paddle board session of my life. The water was glassy. Porpoises frolicked. Seals approached, curious and adorable. My new life partner (whom I met on a surf outing, natch, and whom I wrote about here: deborahcopaken.substack… ), took this photo from his board behind mine. Being on that board, being seen and loved and accompanied on my ocean journey, felt like such a full-circle moment, as I near the fourth anniversary of this publication, that I thought I’d share that photo here, next to the quote from that 2021 essay, especially for those readers who’ve been along for this entire, four-year ride. All this to say, writing about heartbreak, women’s health, good books, love, second chances, aging, and renewal have not only healed me, they—and YOU, dear readers—have changed my life forever. Thank you. Truly, thank you.