Welcome to Quiet Part Loud
by Bethany Fox
What can you expect here?
Thoughtful, funny reflections mined from everyday life. One current place of wondering and growth is how to follow Jesus and love my neighbors from a place of freedom and love, and not just from duty and obligation (which has led me to burnout and resentment). I also write about my ongoing journey of learning how to let myself feel joy. Then there will be stuff about navigating friendship, bodies (particularly mine as a fat woman, but also stuff about disability and neurodivergence), contemplative Christianity, and insights from what I’m reading.
You can expect deeply honest sharing, warmth, and a willingness to see myself and everything else from multiple angles.
Why am I starting a Substack?
I feel called to write regularly, and love having a place to share and interact with other people around the things I write.
In November of 2022 I left my role as the founding leader of an ability-inclusive church community I had started about 5 years earlier, partly with the goal of experimenting with different writing genres. Literally the day after I left that position I started NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and wrote a full 50,000+ word novel in just one month. I loved the structure and community in that wild experience, and look forward to how a regular Substack writing practice will provide some of both, too.
Why is it called “Quiet Part Loud”?
I’ve often felt that part of my vocation as a writer, and just as a human, is to notice the subtext of a statement or situation and to state it plainly. I resonate with a phrase they use in 12 Step rooms: “You’re only as sick as your secrets.” I think this is true for individuals, and on a larger scale.
The phrase “quite part loud” has been around for a long time, but I always think of it in The Simpsons when Krusty accidentally reveals that he voted for Mr. Burns’ film in the local festival because he was bribed to do so. When asked why he voted for the relatively bad film, he says, “Let’s just say it moved me…TO A BIGGER HOUSE!” And follows up with, “Oops! I said the quiet part loud and the loud part quiet.” You can watch that clip here.
Why is there an elephant in the logo?
Because part of saying the quiet part loud is to name the metaphorical elephant in the room. Plus, elephants can be very loud. Plus, I’m a fat woman writing in public, so figure I may as well double down on the association with massive mammals right up front. Also, they are cute.