For autism and special needs moms crafting identities and experiences that feel magickal to inhabit again
(Adapted from my personal website at cheniece.com)
Preface:
This is the page that I didn't want to write... and kept putting off week after week after week for months.
I didn't ever want to write about this terribly exposing part of my story so badly, yet I find that the words come to me easier than anything else that I have ever penned⦠Perhaps I needed to write this for someone other than myself, then. And if that person happens to be you, here it is:
Hi Friend. Iām Cheniece, and Iām glad youāre here:
Motherhood changes you. And autism motherhood transforms you.
For years, Iāve poured myself into learning, advocating, and adapting for my two incredible toddlers on the spectrum. But in the process, I found myself searching for something more: more connection, more space to breathe, more honesty about what this life really looks like beyond the highlight reels.
I know Iām not alone in this.
I'm a solopreneur, hobbyist podcaster, Tarot-certified attuned Reiki Master, wife, and proud Mother to three cats and my two amazingly pretty ASD toddlers. At my core, Iām a feeler, a storyteller, a deep thinker, and a mom just trying to figure out what it means to embrace this uncommon path with joy, grace, and a sense of identity that extends beyond just "Mom." And this space? It can be about helping you do the same.
What is āLittle Alchemiesā?...
My writing practice saved meā¦
Little Alchemies is my digital living room (instead of just another stage)... Here is my personal soft landing place and easeful online home for expansion... This outlet of mine is reserved for reflection, self-return, and personal growth... especially when life feels heavy or uncertain.
You see, I share about: reclaiming your identity and purpose beyond the role of āMomā, being a caregiver to my two (very, very pretty) autistic and special needs young children, keeping up with a life-giving creative practice, a little nervous-system care, and just what it means to remain softly human amidst the mess and beauty of this real lifeā¦
Please explore my mindful essays, honest reflections, and open letters to other women who are ALSO quietly becoming themselves again⦠This is me connecting with myself beyond the diagnosis letters and therapy schedules (mine and my childrenās), even in this deepest season of motherhood.
This carefully curated space is Hallowed ground where I am (gently) alchemizing motherhood (reshaped by neurodivergence, special needs, and more) into a life I STILL love to live inside. Be nourished by the stories, support, & soul-work along this grounded venture of life design BEYOND caregiving.
This space is very intentionally kept:
š± Cozy, not loud
š± Reflective, not reactive
š± Slow, not optimized
š± Grounded in real lifeā¦
And youāre free to arrive just as you are and stay as long as it feels good.
You donāt need to āfollowā anything here... Read and experience. Bookmark a reflection. Subscribe if youād like letters in your inbox. Come back when life feels a little too loud.
What to Expect as a Subscriber
Youāll find odds and ends about motherhood and neurodivergent caregiving (without romanticizing the burnout), identity loss and self-reclamation, grief and love coexisting in the same breath, and small grounding practices that make your life feel inhabitable again⦠Some posts are short. Some are slow. ALL of them are honest.
Topics Covered Include: ⦠Identity loss and reclamation after a childās autism or special needs diagnosis ⦠Caregiver burnout recovery and nervous system care for special needs moms ⦠Grief and joy coexisting inside neurodivergent parenting ⦠Intentional living and life design for autism and special needs families ⦠Spiritual self-care, Reiki, and soul work for caregiving mothers ⦠Building an identity beyond the role of special needs mom
FREE SUBSCRIPTION: Always Open
Receive monthly personal insights and honest reflections about the life youāre actually living in either text letter or audio letter format straight to your inbox. Feel the heartbeat of this experience with slow, real, and grounded writing about identity loss and reclamation, grief and love coexisting, and what it actually looks like to rebuild a life that feels like yours again.
These letters meet you where you are with no platitudes or empty inspiration. Only authentic storytelling, a call for reflection, and practical wisdom from someone walking this path alongside you: a mom of two autistic special needs young children whoās choosing intentional living even in the thick of it.
Typical issues contain features such as:
A personal story in my most honest voice
A journal prompt, reflection, simple self-return ritual, or easy reclamation practice
An open engagement prompt and link to the Anonymous Share Box
Free subscribers ALSO receive:
āļø A copy of The Survival Mode Exit Strategy Workbook (downloadable)
āļø Access to the private subscriber Group Chat Lounge
āļø Direct support line to send me a message asking anything about motherhood, burnout, identity, or self-care. (Iāll answer in an exclusive post or chat reply.)
āļø Connection Without Pressure: This isnāt a bustling community space demanding your participation⦠Itās connection at your own pace, in your inbox, where you can show up fully or simply receive. Both matter here.
PAID MEMBERSHIP: $8/month or $70/year
šŖ Weekly āRefinementā: a weekly ritual check-in message in the private subscriber Group Chat Lounge. Be held by a grounding question, a collective call for reflection, or a soul-work practice. This is tending AND accountability every week, just for you.
šŖ Monthly Deep Dive Posts: Premium (paid-only) writing that goes further than the public letters do into the layered, tender, true places.
šŖ The āGolden Circle Callā: Attend a monthly recorded voice submission from me to Gilded members only. Itās deeply honest, unpolished, and direct.
šŖ āThe Alchemistās Tableā Resource Library: a collection growing in size AND value of exclusive downloadables, reflection prompts, grounding practices, guides, and real tools for the mom doing both the advocacy work and the inner work.
šŖ Non-Social Media Community Space: Hold private space with other women who are also deep in this work⦠We donāt need the backstory. We understand already.
Simply stated, this your soft and consistent ground to land on and continually return to, with a tending weekly practice built right in and a room thatās ALL YOURS to inhabitā¦
(Get a FULL picture for consideration right hereā¦)
Reader Appreciation
Honest Words:
ā¦You might be here because your life doesnāt look like you thought it would. OR because you LOVE deeply, and you also feel tired in your bones... Or because youāre craving language for what youāre currently carrying. ā¦Or you want to FEEL like YOURSELF again⦠as a truer versionā¦
If thatās you⦠youāre not late. Youāre not broken. Youāre not alone.
And Iām REALLY glad that weāve found each other.
Cheniece ā”
Never miss an update; every new post is sent directly to your email inbox.
A life you can live inside. A body you can stay inside. An identity you can inhabitā¦
(Questions? Wondering if this is right for you? Reply to ANY newsletter or reach outāI read everything.)
(For a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus more audio and community features, get the Substack app. To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.)










