Essays on disability, psychology, love, shame, grief, and the ongoing practice of meeting life as it is.
| Platform |  | Pricing | Only free issues | Publishes | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 70 | Founded | a year ago | Last Issue | 9 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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davidbyounger.substack.comLatest Issues
Burden Is Not a Verdict
Lost in the Forest, digital painting by Judith Alalu, 2026
The intercom in my parents’ house had a ring I can remember distinctly. I can picture my father’s body in the second before my mother’s voice actually came through. He’d be in his...
At Least We Have Each Other
My daughter and I separated from the crowd at my son’s college graduation
Last week I wrote about the importance of co-regulation in parenting our neurodivergent daughter. What I’ve been thinking a lot about this week is how having a physi...
The Child We Imagined, the Child We Have with Jeannie Ewing and David B. Younger
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Unlearning
My daughter is sitting sideways on my lap, her legs draped over the armrest of the recliner. She’s 12. It feels like I have a fully grown human on my lap. The way she plops herself down though, I don’t think she remembers that.
I put my ha...
The Closed System
The Forest, digital painting by Judith Alalu, 2021
Sometimes you really can’t see the forest for the trees. I’ve been in one of those moments, and I’ve finally gotten a glimpse of the forest. It is energizing me, loosening a stuckness I de...
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
I’m a husband, father, psychologist, reluctant expert in muscular dystrophy, and recovering neurotic. I write about disability, shame, anxiety, and the ongoing process of becoming more at home in a life and body I didn’t choose.
I write about disability, power, and the wisdom of lived experience. My work challenges dominant narratives about disability and explores what those narratives reveal about agency, embodiment, and what it means to be human.
I write about motherhood, thinking alongside my five children as we learn to show up with a good heart. I believe small acts of kindness can change the world. Here, we slow down, think together, and build bridges.
Substack When Pain Writes. Drawing on literature, philosophy, and personal experience, this Substack explores what cannot be easily narrated.
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