Beautiful Hangover is a newsletter about striving to be authentic in a culture that pushes you to pretend.

Moss Piglet was a featured Substack publication this year.

Growing up, I found the social side of life really difficult. I turned to alcohol to help, but that became its own problem. At 33 I got sober, and at 37 I discovered I was autistic. At 38 I was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD.

Which kinda explained the struggle for all those years.

This newsletter is about how to accept and love yourself: quirks, trauma, disability, gifts and all. I will share lessons, victories and failures in my quest for more authenticity, and I hope you will do the same.

I aim to publish every Tuesday, and to start a thread or chat every Friday. (Apart from when I can't because I need to lie down and can't do anything. #burnoutisreal)

Subscribe if you want more self-acceptance, joy and fun, and less perfectionism, codependency and self-sabotage.

Also, if you like silly drawings.

Idea for new merch.

About me

I’m an award-winning YA novelist and a senior lecturer in Creative Writing at UWE. Here’s a rave review of my first book, Infinite Sky, in the Guardian.

I’m currently working on a literary memoir about getting sober and discovering I’m neurodiverse AF, and how plants helped me to heal. Beautiful Hangover: how a late autism diagnosis helped me make peace with a drunken past, as well as a new YA book about time travel in a forest.

🌿 🌌 🌲 🍃 🪺 🪐 🌱 🌳 🤷 🪐 🧭 🖲️ 🔦 ⛑️ 📡 ⌛ 🌿 🌲 🌳 🍃 🪺 🌠 ⏳ 🌿 🌲


If you enjoy my writing and want me to be free to write more, then consider taking out a subscription. <3

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Thanks for reading, and please talk to me in the comments!

Chelsey x

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Most popular post: Why I Paid £700 for a Diagnosis Though Nobody Believes I Am Autistic

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Novelist, editor, cat lady. Too sensitive. Startles easily. Talented at naps. Talk to me @cjflood_author.