EP. 12 Does My Life Matter? Do I Matter to Anyone? (Hannah Brencher)

Jun 4, 2018

What does it mean to live like you mean it? For Hannah Brencher, this question was on her mind following a big move to New York City. In her loneliness she started writing love letters, leaving them around NYC for strangers to find. Her ability to use her pain to spur random acts of kindness eventually grew into something much bigger than herself, the impact of her letters spreading far and wide and turning into a movement. Hannah’s new book, “Come Matter Here”, is out now.

 

This episode includes:

• Jen reflects on our desire to matter and feel seen, appreciated, and loved
• Hannah reflects on the good and bad of moving to her New York City: the good, the bad, and the ugly!
• Hannah’s decision to write “love letters” to help get her through a dark time
• How Hannah turned her pain into a gift for others by leaving love letters to strangers around New York City
• Hannah talks getting contacted by the Wall Street Journal and having her story amplified
• What made Hannah decide to “go all in” and turn Love Letters into a global movement
• Jen and Hannah talk about the beauty of a handwritten letter and why it can be so impactful
• Jen and Hannah reflect on the joy, vulnerability, frustration, and loneliness that came from the process of writing their first books
• Hannah talks about balancing finding support in real life vs from communities from social media -- the importance of finding “your people” to share with when you’re feeling down
• Hannah discusses being vulnerable online: there’s a time and a place
• Hannah talks about mindful of the narratives they puts out there and the narrative the world expects from them
• Hannah talks about her new book “Come Matter Here” and why she wrote it!
• Speed Round: Why Hannah says you DON’T need to have a 5-year plan!