I’m late to my own party, but April 1, 2020 marked twelve years since I quit my job as a lawyer to travel the world. By now, many of you know the drill: each year I wrote an annual update post on that date, reflecting on my state of mind and the state of my business. In Saigon, it was a party with bun cha and rice vodka. In Oaxaca, it was mezcal and quesadillas. These celebrations were small but meaningful—a chance to honor the path I chose and the community that grew around it.
This year, the date fell during my long trek back to Montreal from Florida. I was trying to move quickly enough to get home safely, but slow enough not to exacerbate my spinal CSF leak. While I was technically on the road on April 1st, the occasion involved less celebration and more pandemic than usual. Since today is my 41st birthday, I decided to use this moment to do that annual write-up—a post about what’s going on and some of what comes next.
12 Years of Legal Nomads
Health-wise, my leak is ongoing. Other chronic issues persist. Still, I am here today, alive, feeling loved, trying to find gratitude for what I can and remind myself that human connection is part of what sees us through. With increased acceptance of my day-to-day reality came a sense of dissonance when I looked at Legal Nomads. That smiling person on a motorbike on my front page is no longer me. Telling stories through food is no longer me. Those are part of me, sure, and I am proud of whatever roads took me to them. But I would open my dashboard and think, “what am I even doing? Is there a point to any of this anymore?” These are questions many of us ask, and they take sharp form when the physical opportunity costs of working are so great.
I love writing, and my mind misses it. Writing this post in morning increments felt like coming home. My body, though, doesn’t like it when I write. My leak symptoms worsen, and while I’ve tried creative solutions like voice-to-text, they don’t scratch the writing itch. I love the typing itself—the act of words falling out of my brain and rearranging into prose. So I decided to do something drastic.
Killing My Darlings
In writing, you often need to cull those paragraphs or characters you feel attached to even though they no longer contribute critically to the whole. You need to “kill your darlings” to make a better piece. For me, this comes not from ornamental prose but from the physical limitations on my ability to work. While my creative time is endless, the actual creating takes physical overhead I no longer have. I’m divesting some projects I’ve clung to in the hopes of building something exciting for my community.
I have a half-finished writing course workbook and a full outline for a product for lawyers wanting career changes. Neither will be doable in the near future with my limitations. But readers asked for them, so I’ve partnered with people I trust to fix those pain points since I can’t.
How to Tell Better Stories in a Digital World: My Storytelling Course
I planned to create a storytelling course and have a half-completed workbook and many sign-ups from readers. I’ve tried to think of ways to do this while leaking, but it’s not possible without eating into all my uptime. So I partnered with two people I trust to offer two different courses. Which one is best depends on your needs.
Storytelling Course with Lola Akinmade Åkerström
How can we craft and share stories that create empathy and connection? How do we cradle the responsibility of telling others’ stories? How do you hook, engage, and keep readers to the closing message? Lola addresses these in her comprehensive, self-paced course with lectures, video modules, and case studies. She’s offering $50 off for Legal Nomads readers if you mention my name.
Blogging Course with Mike Sowden
For bloggers, Mike’s course “Engage! A Storytelling Course for Bloggers” is a great option. It’s self-paced over 8 weeks, with email and audio lessons, PDF guides (including my favorite, “How To Edit The S#!t Out Of Your Writing”), and 1:1 support. Use code donkeyballs2020 for $15 off.
Leaving Law Behind with Casey Berman and Adam Ouellette
My Thrillable Hours series inspired lawyers feeling deadened to find courage and think broadly. I had plans for a course to help lawyers take a leap, but didn’t finish it. Casey and Adam have—they help lawyers overcome blocking beliefs, self-sabotage, and provide interview and résumé help. Basically, if I can’t help you, they can at Leave Law Behind.
The “Ask a Jodi” Podcast
A few years ago, I bought the domain Ask a Jodi and planned to do videos answering readers’ questions about life and everything after. Ironically, it was sitting on the ground to dig out a tripod that reopened my leak in 2018. I shelved the video idea. With the physical strain of this year’s COVID-19 posts, I decided writing would need to come second to something else. I’ve long said I’d write if no one read, but my body and writing don’t get along. So a short podcast (10-15 minutes) is where I netted out—specifically to answer questions about resilience, grief, hope, and more. It will take time to get off the ground, but I look forward to sharing it. Use the Google Form on my site to send me your questions.
Redesigning Legal Nomads
This site started on Blogger and moved to WordPress in 2010. It’s been through quite a few redesigns since 2008.
It’s been a few years, and this time the redesign will streamline existing categories into a few main ones, link to the courses and resources above, brighten colors, and update pictures and the about page to reflect transitions. I’ll also change my slogan from “Telling Stories Through Food” to “Curious About Everything,” which better reflects my present and who I’ve always been.
Audio Recordings for Accessibility
Some readers with CSF leaks or chronic illness asked if I could record posts in audio form, especially the ones about meditation and my leak journey. My goal is to record these before starting the podcast, warming up to audio and making content more accessible.
Newsletter Back Up and Running
“Links I Loved” was a newsletter I started to share interesting reads. It’s been disabled for a year and a half due to fluctuating pain levels. With the redesign and podcast, I’m starting it again—featuring great reads, updates, and podcast planning. Sign up on my site.
Supporting Legal Nomads
This is the question I get most: “How can I support you?” I feel incredibly lucky to have an incredible, caring community. Even during bewildering times, you reach out to check on me. The easiest support is via an Amazon gift card to jodi-at-legalnomads.com, which helps me get harder-to-find items. With COVID-19, ordering from Amazon means people don’t have to hunt for tiger nut flour. There’s also my Patreon, launched based on your request—I love the intimate community there. Honestly, there isn’t much else at the moment. Support the podcast when it launches, and share my work if it resonates. The day-to-day care is pressing, and thankfully I have family, neighbors, and friends to help with grocery runs and socially distanced visits.
My friend Cheryl, featured here before, says her life mantra is LSAT—love, surrender, acceptance, and trust. A lot harder to embody than fear, anger, and loathing. A lot easier to say than do. And yet a worthy use of mental time and energy. Every moment you’re not in a state of surrender, you’re in a state of lack. That’s what gets me through each day.
Well, that and soup.