Hi,
The subject line of this note initially had the word "goodbye" in it. But goodbye doesn’t fit with what I want to tell you today. I spent the past few days after The Correspondent announced its closure in a haze of sadness and fear – sadness that the mission to redefine mental health journalism that I started here will remain incomplete, and fear that I will lose my incredible family of colleagues and you, my reader, my ally, my partner, my fellow dreamer.
But today, I am not saying goodbye. Today, I’m asking you with trepidation and a lot of hope to join me once more as I build a new home for my writing.
I’m inviting you to subscribe to Sanity by Tanmoy, a new publication where I will continue doing the important work we started together 18 months ago.
The manifesto for Sanity by Tanmoy will be familiar to you:
There is an urgent need for a platform that will tell authentic, universal stories establishing the intersectional nature of mental health; marry the rigour of research with the soul of lived experience; and amplify ignored voices. This is what Sanity by Tanmoy will slowly aim to become.
My relationship with you in these 18 months has been special because it has been founded on complete honesty. I don’t plan to change that now. So I will tell you that I haven’t had the time or headspace to be "strategic" about this new beginning. I won’t lure you with grand plans or offers.
Truth be told, the very idea of Sanity by Tanmoy was not mine. It was yours.
In the past few days, you have overwhelmed me with your love and solidarity. You said our work cannot be allowed to stop. You urged me to begin again and pledged your support wherever I went next. It’s you who made me get up on my feet again. So, here I am.
Important: Everything on this new platform will be free for the first three months. However, please do consider picking up a paid subscription and telling your friends. It will help make the work sustainable. Thank you for everything.
Before we meet again
Every story I’ve written for The Correspondent is close to my heart. But I want to preserve three in particular for posterity.
These are the stories that best demonstrate the power of my most favourite The Correspondent principle: memberful journalism, or co-producing journalism with my readers.
- The time has come to take the self out of self-care
- What people with disabilities want us to know about touch
- Where are all the older people in stories about depression?
On the subject of memberfulness: Earlier this year I spoke with a Shweta, a member and regular contributor under my articles. Much of her thoughtful reflection and suggestions on where my reporting could go owes to her own lived experience of managing her mental health.
She asked this amazing question, which I can’t stop thinking about months later:
"What is Sanity’s response to the biggest problems that we have in the world right now, like climate, or the failure of our democratic institutions, or race and social justice?"
Finding answers to Shweta’s question will be top of my mind in the coming days.
Watch "When member meets correspondent: Tanmoy and Shweta"
So long, dear friend, and I hope to see you again soon.
Tanmoy | Follow me on Twitter