with Julie Brown

This past Saturday, I fell in love. 💜

His name was Hunter. He was short, tan, handsome, a little hairy. And available.

Chris and I were walking through Newport when we passed one of those pop-up dog adoption events outside a store.

And there he was. A dog who absolutely STOLE MY HEART.

I made the enormous mistake of stopping. I pet him. I talked to him. I looked into his stupid adorable little face. I kissed him on his head.

And then I had to walk away because, as Chris very reasonably pointed out, WE ALREADY HAVE TWO DOGS.

So obviously...I cried. Like ACTUALLY cried. Real tears.

Not because I had known Hunter for three minutes. But because he didn't have a home. And suddenly he wasn't just Hunter. He was every dog sitting in a shelter. Every dog at an adoption event. Every stupid adorable face waiting for someone to stop, fall in love, and say, "I GOT YOU."

And I wanted that for him SO BADLY.

So for the next two blocks, Chris got to listen to me explain that menopause has apparently turned me into a hormonal f&cking baby who can no longer casually encounter an adoptable animal in public.

Which brings me, strangely enough, to HYROX.

For those of you who have been here for a while, you know this saga. I signed up for my first HYROX in October. Then I broke my toe in two places AND dislocated it.

There was blood. There was an ambulance. I couldn't run for eight weeks. I couldn’t train properly for 11 weeks. It was a whole thing.

For those of you who are new here...welcome. This is apparently the kind of content you signed up for.

Now, a normal person who has never actually competed in a HYROX race and had her training COMPLETELY derailed by a rogue toe might think: Let's see if I survive the first one.

Well, I’m not normal, because apparently, somewhere during this rather short and hard training process I have become DELUSIONALLY OPTIMISTIC.

And despite the fact that I have never actually DONE a HYROX, despite the fact that I have no idea if I will like it, despite the fact that I could finish the October race and immediately announce, "I AM NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN."

I have already signed up for another one. HYROX Nashville. December 11th.

But this one is going to be different. For Nashville, I've partnered with Race for Impact, an organization that turns HYROX races into fundraisers for high-impact charities tackling some of the world's toughest problems.

And because you know me, you know I chose the Animal Welfare Fund.

Here's what you should know.

Every dollar donated to the Animal Welfare Fund can improve the lives of around FIVE animals.

$1 can help 5 animals. $100 can help more than 500 animals.

And these aren't just hypothetical projections. They're based on results these programs have already achieved.

So here's what I'm doing.

I'm going to train for Nashville.

I'm going to run. I'm going to push the sled. I'm going to pull the sled. I'm going to do the godforsaken burpee broad jumps. I'm going to do 100 wall balls even if my soul temporarily leaves my body while I am doing them.

And hopefully...I will not shit my pants.

Here is where you come in. I want to see how many animals we can help along the way.

My fundraising is active from now until October 10th

If you'd like to be part of this with me, scan the QR code and donate whatever you want. $1. $5. $10. $25. $100.

Every single penny you send me will go directly to the Animal Welfare Fund.

The four digits to confirm are: 5723

And remember: if $1 can help around five animals, even a $5 donation can potentially make a difference for around 25 animals.

And if you donate, congratulations...

You are now emotionally invested in my HYROX Nashville journey.

I'll bring you along for the training. The travel. The race. The sleds. The inevitable moments when I wonder why the hell I thought doing TWO HYROX races in 60 days was a good idea.

And hopefully, on December 11th, I'll cross that finish line knowing that all this running, pushing, pulling, lunging and questionable decision-making did something pretty freaking awesome.

It helped a whole lot of animals.

Oh God. Now I'm f&cking crying again.

Here's that code again!

P.S. If you like my work and want to support it, here are 3 ways!
👉 Pick one right now before you forget:

1) Forward this newsletter to a friend and let them know they can subscribe here.​

2) Buy my book​

3) Bring me into your company to speak. (Either in person or virtual.)