Good morning, friends!

Welcome to the last newsletter of 2025 — what a freaking year.

You know what to do, grab your warm cup of love and come sit with your girl for a minute. <3

The Sunday Brew ☕️

The Year I Stopped Pleasing Everyone

I don’t think I’m only speaking for myself when I say this year came and freaking went like a thief in the night.

I know they say as you get older the years start running into each other, but this year in particular had somewhere to be.

I’m not exactly sure what this year taught you, but for me? I learned more than I was expecting. From failed friendships, to ALMOST losing my entire mind, to accomplishing goals that I had in my reach for so long — this year was a whirlwind of emotions.

However, I think the biggest personal win this year for me wasn’t graduating or publishing two books — but it was learning one thing: fuck people and being a people pleaser.

Yes, you heard right. Now you know I love yall! However, people suck. Badly. Especially the ones you love the most sometimes. I had to learn this year to start putting my own feelings and emotions first and to stop allowing other people to dictate how I move, how I think, how I feel, and how I choose to deal with the way they’ve treated me. I learned that being a people pleaser was draining me to my core. So I just… stopped. One day I was like… enough is enough! Why am I allowing other people to make me feel like I need to please them in order to gain their love or approval? Why am I doing things I KNOW I wouldn’t normally do, because someone else is making me feel like I need to do that? It made no sense to me.

So I just said fuck it. And started doing what I WANTED to do — not what any one else wanted.

And it got me far, and I mean far! Sometimes, you just need to come to certain realizations and stick to that. It’s easier said than done, but one day you will wake up tired of this bullshit that you’ve allowed. The things you’ve done. The embarrassment you’ve endured. The time and energy you’ve put into others with little to nothing in return. You WILL get tired. And on the day you get tired, please… I’m begging you. STAY TF tired! Stay tired and make changes.

We have to come to the realization that the only person that can change our situation is the person staring us back in the mirror everyday.

These people that you continue to please… they don’t have to deal with the consequences of YOUR actions — you do.

These situations that you continue to put yourself in… no one has to answer to that but you. So when you realize that you are in a place in your life where enough is enough, I need you to pull yourself up by your boot straps and tighten up.

You are your own worst enemy. You are your biggest critic. You have the power to live the life YOU want to live. You have the power to change everything about YOUR life. So, take control where you can. There are so many things that we are not in control of in this life we live — but we are in control of ourselves.
Take comfort in that. Don’t let it intimidate you. You don’t understand how much power you have until you start putting actions behind making those changes.

This year, I’m leaving behind several things and I’ll list them below:

• people who don’t serve me
• giving people who don’t have any effect on my life complete access to me
• people pleasing
• over-explaining
• explaining at all…
• doom-scrolling — yeah yeah I know we all say that, but I’m being serious. Staying off socials for a while did me so much good you have no idea!
• negative talk about myself or other people
• being an extreme pessimist
• looking at my cup half empty instead of half full
• forcing myself to create/write when I feel a block (this is new for me, as I have told others to just write through it… and now I’m seeing that that was terrible advice and I apologize for that. Don’t do that. Give yourself time to do nothing. To explore and get inspiration naturally. You’d be surprised what you come up with when you give yourself necessary breaks.)
• making excuses instead of taking accountability
• venting to people
• spending money on things I know I don’t need (a gift is okay every once in a while, but I spend money like I sell crack. I have to stop.)

Now tell me, what are YOU leaving behind this year? You don’t have to answer publicly. Just be honest with yourself.

What can you expect from me next year?

My novel — Sins in the Shadows — will be releasing in August of 2026 around the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, so stay tuned for that! I will be doing signed author copies again which I’m super excited about!

A continuation of my Wives of Blue series and the Vieux Carré Press Newspaper. If you haven’t tuned into the episodes already posted here, I’ll link the archive below!

Nolaverse Archive

You can also expect me to continue dropping the Bayou Journal series on Fridays for my paid subs. It’s been a while, because I decided to take the rest of the year off — but they’ve been a hit. And when I say a hit, I mean my mom loves them… so I will continue writing them :) They surround all things New Orleans and it’s history told by me!

However, as for the rest of this week — I am RESTING. I am resetting. I am talking to God. I am aligning myself so that I go into the new year ready. I am spending time with my thoughts. I am spending time alone. I am journaling. I am deep cleaning. I am resetting my space and my energy. I am planning. I am setting intentions.

2026 will be the year I harvest every seed I planted this year.

I am praying and hoping that your year is life changing in the best way. Always remember, you are in control of it.

I love you!!!

See you soon,

Marie <3