Hi,
I’m Robin LaVoie.
I began writing here on Substack in 2021 (after writing on another blog since 2012). Most of my writing has been about my life as the caregiver and advocate for my son who is autistic. He’s 25 now—I’ve been writing about him for over half his life.
I’ve found a lot of solace in writing about what it’s like to care for my semi-verbal, sensitive, quirky, struggling and striving kid. Writing helps me understand him and my role in supporting him, and I enjoy crafting essays that might help others understand us, too.
And, as my son reached adulthood, I wanted/needed my writing to reflect more of me.
So, after almost 4 years on Substack, I re-imagined this space to make room for other kinds of creative writing—although I’m really not sure yet what else I have to talk about. Subscribe and find out with me!
Why It’s Like This?
My motivation for calling my Substack “It’s Like This” was two-fold. I’m the mom of a young adult autistic son, and people often have questions about our life. This is a space where I can explain what it’s like over here.
But I was also inspired by a phrase shared by Jay Michaelson, a meditation teacher at Happier. Jay offers “Right now, it’s like this” as a way to accept what’s happening (good or bad) without getting caught up in emotions or beliefs about what’s going on.
This mantra helps me, through all the ups and downs over here, to find the kindness and patience that my son and I both need. Sometimes things are good, sometimes things are not so good. “Right now….it’s like this,” and all I can do is breathe (and, sometimes, write about it).
Here’s one post that reflects some of what I’m describing:
What’s with the “ghost light” in the logo?
A ghost light is a single bulb left onstage when a theatre is otherwise dark, for safety and sometimes superstitious reasons.
For me, the image of a ghost light conjures creativity, support, groundedness, and a bit of mystery.
The ghost light evokes the promise of art and performance, and speaks of the creative work behind the scenes to make a show come together. My creative space will always include some nod to my theatre background—even though I’ve been away from that work for years, I’m still a “techie” at heart.
The ghost light is also a symbol of support work—I often liken my work for my son to that of a stage manager, the one who helps the actors give their best performances through the run of a show. It’s the Role of a Lifetime.
A ghost light can even feel meditative. Right here, in this sphere of light, it’s like this. The light reminds me to pay attention to what is in my view.
But then again, while the bare bulb fends off the darkness at centerstage, I am tempted to wonder (as a longtime reader of Stephen King) what’s lurking in the shadows just off-stage. My penchant for a good ghost story is held in this image, too.
What You’ll Find Here
It’s Like This issues are published once (or twice?) a month and are usually a 5-7 minute read (often including an audio “read aloud” version by yours truly).
I’ll share stories about caregiving and autism, or something else about me (as I try to remind myself that I’m more than just my kid’s mom).
Once in awhile, I’ll throw in some micro-fiction or other silliness, just for the fun of it.
Follow along by subscribing to It’s Like This!
You’re always welcome to come back to this webpage to see what I’ve been writing — but if you subscribe to It’s Like This, you’ll get an email (or you’ll see the post in your Substack app inbox) every time I get my act together to write something. And, your subscription encourages me to keep writing.
Every post at It’s Like This is available for free to all subscribers.
FYI, you can adjust which emails you receive when you subscribe, by going here and clicking on/off in the Notifications section.
This writing work fuels me to do my most important work—supporting and caring for my son—and your reading it supports me in that work.
So, thank you!
