#5SmartReads - April 27, 2023

Olivia Howell is the co-founder and CEO of Fresh Starts Registry, the first and only platform for everything you need to begin again, including divorce or breakup, moving, career changes, stepping into your truth, or starting again after grief. After her own divorce in 2019, Olivia had an 'aha moment' when she realized that we celebrate weddings and babies with a registry, but in the moments we really need to restock our life, like divorce, job loss, or any brave decision and major life change, we need the support, both in the form of support items for your home and the experts who become our hype team. From there, Fresh Starts Registry was born, the first Support Registry and Divorce Registry - and the only platform which aggregates support experts for all life changes and supports the Fresh Starts Experts in their marketing, business, and public relations. Olivia currently lives in Huntington with her two amazing boys. In her spare time, she loves to co-host A Fresh Story Podcast, watercolor, make handmade cards, read about generational trauma, listen to 90s music, and collect crystals.

Her book, Simple Scripts to Support Your People, just launched this week! Pick up a copy here.

Everyone Announces Their Divorce Like A Celebrity Now (The Cut)

I'm going to be very honest: I'm a huge fan of announcing your divorce on social media. And, for so many reasons!

One, for so many years (aka, forever and still...), divorce is stigmatized as shameful and a failure, and at Fresh Starts, we believe the opposite: divorce is a gift and a celebration. Just like you would announce a graduation, you can announce your divorce - it's a brave decision!

Also, announcing your divorce on social media gives you agency over the narrative and lets you decide what people are understanding, and who has access to your personal life. I announced my own divorce on New Year's Eve on Facebook, when I took the time to thank everyone who supported me and my sons over the past year. People were surprised, but loving and supportive. Also, when you are brave and share your story, it becomes a guidebook for others - and we're all about that.

And, finally - not sure how to respond to someone who announced their divorce? Don't worry, we have a script for that in our new book!

Want To Be More Positive? Here Are 7 Things Optimistic People Do Differently (Real Simple)

I've always considered myself an optimistic person, so when I had the chance to share my insight in Real Simple with journalist Lindsay Tigar, I was beyond thrilled.

As you'll read in this piece, I take a very different approach to the concept of optimism and leading an optimistic lifestyle. For example, something I discuss in this piece is the power of saying "no" and how that can actually lead you to have a more optimistic point of view on life.

Do you consider yourself an optimistic person? I think, in my way, I always have been, because to me, optimism is having choice - when you can see options in life and make the safest, bravest, and most educated choice for yourself, you can always see hope in the world.

Should You Buy Groceries Daily, Weekly, or Monthly (Go Banking Rates)

As a startup founder, I'm always keenly aware of where my money is going - and with two growing boys, we go through a lot of food! I mean, my kids eat a box of pasta as an after-school snack! So, I found this piece from GoBankingRates very interesting - one of our Fresh Starts Experts, financial and life planner Diana Gisel Yáñez, was interviewed for this piece - and one of her tips is something I think about a lot: the timing doesn't matter as much, as how YOU feel when you're grocery shopping. MIND BLOWN.

If you go to the market hungry, you're going to overspend. I LOVED this advice. Check out the piece for a lot of practical tips for keeping your grocery budget in check. Also, I always find this topic fascinating, as it's so cultural! When my sister is in Scotland, she grocery shops almost daily, opposed to when she's living here, and it's more weekly. How many times a week do you grocery shop?

‘We’re Just At A Breaking Point’: Hollywood Writers Vote To Authorize Strike (NPR)

I've been closely following what's happening with the Writers Guild of America and their upcoming possible strike, as one of my dear friends is a TV writer and has been sharing a lot of behind the scenes of what living as a well-known TV writer REALLY is like.

She's been in the industry decades, has written many shows we all love, is a show-runner, and STILL has to teach on the side to make ends meet. Something my sister and I talk a lot about are the huge amount of careers that are behind the scenes careers in the entertainment industry - from writers to PAs, to camera people, there are so many job options that we simply don't talk about much, but often these jobs aren't compensated as they should be!

I'll be following what's happening with the writer's strike, and I suggest you all do too, as is could impact the entertainment world greatly!

Virginia Sole-Smith Wants Parents To Have The ‘Fat Talk’ With Their Kids (Yahoo)

If we had to share a book-birthday with another author, it would absolutely be my friend Virginia Sole-Smith, as her amazing new book FAT TALK also comes out on April 25th (go buy it!).

I've been a huge fan of Virginia's for a long time, having listened to her podcast, and read her Substack as soon as it hits my inbox - so, I loved this piece by another friend of mine Meg St-Esprit, talking about the importance of Virginia's new book - as someone who was bullied my entire life for my body - and raising sons who are in larger frames, I'm sometimes at a loss on how to handle fatphobia in my children's lives, and Virginia holds nothing back with her new book. I cannot say enough about the importance of her work for families, and especially for raising the next generation of children to love and honor themselves. Thank you, Virginia, for all of the work you do!