It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Why? Oh, it’s just that this is one of my favorite entries of the writing year because it does not require much thought from me. I find that a perfect complement to the post-holiday dip in energy.
While our friends at Spotify or Goodreads are fabulous at providing an annual wrap-up, in the writing world? Not so much. It’s a bit of a manual wrap-up so apologies for the lack of whistles and bells.
Drumroll please…
The most read entry in 2024 was:
Mary Lou & the 30 Surgeries was written in response to Mary Lou Retton’s health crisis, during which she casually mentioned over 30 orthopedic surgeries. This casual mention was met with shock by the muggles (those who have never experienced the toll that takes on one’s body). The rest of us (actual gymnasts) quickly tallied our own visits to the surgical suite and began comparing notes on a variety of message boards. Mary Lou & the 30 Surgeries tells my surgical stories.
Taking second place? Wow, again:
I find the popularity of this post fascinating. I wrote it as I was still processing my lay-off from Dell. During that process, I discovered just how mentally damaging Dell, as a company, was to work for–something reiterated when my husband left Dell for Pure Storage. I often wonder if companies hiring former Dell employees have become fully aware of the baggage that must be undone to build back their confidence. This blog gains loads of new followers each time Dell does another sweeping axe of amazing employees…which is often.
The Top Ten Most Read Entries of 2024:
- Mary Lou & The 30 Surgeries
- The Exit Interview (Don’t #TellDell)
- Finding the Good at the End of a Relationship: More to come on this one in 2025 – evidently there is still more to process.
- There’s a Grief That Can’t Be Spoken: The unexpected loss of my mother-in-law and the surprise feelings that hit me hard.
- Tips for the Neurodivergent Traveler: What I learned while gaining my ASD Travel Planner certification.
- Skeletons in her closet? Nope, they’re in their Swift Era: A wonderful guest blog from Kathy!
- His Best Cruise Ever: Rich Does Disney: That time Rich fully drank the delicious Disney Cruise Kool-Aid.
- The Packing Game: A few tips on how I pack. And how my son packs. And things to bring along.
- MommaPause: Empty Nesting, Day 8: Turns out, that empty home wasn’t as exciting as I though it would be.
- S*** Nuggets, Revisited: An oldie but goodie, revisited.
Who, What, Where?
I love looking at the stats each year and seeing just how far my words reach. This year, readers from over 70 countries enjoyed Which Way’s Up! Most read places?
- United States: I love looking at the specifics on this one as I can pinpoint exactly where my domestic readers are. I imagine cups of coffee paired with the Monday Epiphanies (as my mom calls these entries) and bursts of laughter or an occasional tear.
- Canada
- Ireland
- United Kingdom
- India
- Germany
- China
- Sweden
- Australia
- France
Nerd Alert.
All-time views are sitting at 30,000 with all-time visitors at 20,000!
In 2024, Which Way’s Up had nearly 7,000 viewers. That is up again, which seems to be our trend year-to-year, which is exactly why I continue writing weekly. On those days when I struggle with a topic, I remind myself that (on average) a hundred readers are waiting for Which Way’s Up to land in their email each Monday morning.
This is where I do my shameless plug…are you subscribed for that personal delivery of Which Way’s Up each week? If not, please add that to your 2025 resolutions–it will likely be the easiest resolution to complete!
What did you read?
In 2024, you read nearly 60,000 words delivered directly from my brain to your devices. That’s a lot of words. I cannot thank you enough.
This little blog started as a digital journal five years ago to help me wade through some mental mud. Today it has grown to a bigger blog, a whole website, and a best-selling memoir.
In 2025, that “book” will become “books” as (S)Parent hits the shelves with at least three more books to follow as I fulfill the request to put this little blog into published form. That may be the biggest honor of all and one that I still can’t quite grasp. I cannot thank you enough.
My hope, always, is that you see yourself in my words.
My hope is that you find laughter, companionship, and similarities.
My hope is that my words show you that we are all living this nutso thing called “life” together and that, by sharing my stories, you will find comfort in your own.
I cannot thank you enough.
No really. I can’t. Knowing that each of my readers welcomes my words is such a joy. Thank you.