Ivy Ruths, PhD

The first Christmas without my daughter nearly broke me.

But over time, I’ve learned something super important: joy doesn’t live on the calendar. ✨

You can celebrate whenever you’re together.
You can volunteer, rest, skip traditions, or make new ones entirely.
You can still have meaning, even when it looks different.

Read my latest Substack essay — Any Day Can Be Thanksgiving — about letting go of the “right” date and finding light where you are. 💛

🔗 Link in bio to read + subscribe.

For most of my life, I’ve been chasing the next thing — the next degree, the next milestone, the next version of “better.”

And then, at 30, life fell apart.

That season changed me. It taught me what it means to rebuild, to reimagine, and to keep going even when the story looks different than you thought it would.

My new Substack, On Writing Again, is where I’m putting words to that journey — to grief, motherhood, and growth — and sharing the tools that have helped me find steadiness again.

If you’ve ever wondered how to move forward after a hard chapter, this space is for you. 💚

Subscribe at ivyruthsrios.substack.com, through the link in my profile, or DM me for the link.