I live in the Midwest and spend a lot of my time caring for others, which means I don’t often talk about how I’m actually doing. I’d like to practice being a bit more honest and connected.

I listen to audiobooks a lot while working, and I'm always looking for recommendations of good books. One of my favorite authors is Barbara Kingsolver.

My main passion is writing. I'm working on a novel that I hope to get published when it's ready. I also have a blog/Substack (annaeplin.com) and corresponding social media pages, where I post little poems ("Serenity Splashes") and songs that I write.

I care deeply about kindness (obviously!), mental health, rationality/critical thinking, and making this life in this world now as good as I/we can.

I'm late-diagnosed autistic, as well as "exvangelical" (former fundamentalist Christian).

I love reading, learning, nature, animals, music, and quiet conversations with good friends.

My life is quite busy and at times overwhelming...I'm heading over to the "Hurting & Hard Times" thread now to write about that.