How To Cleanse Your Life With Unemployed Holy Water

The real reason I launched this publication and how it's going so far 😂

I almost used the headline, “This Newsletter Failed Right Out Of The Gate,” but decided against it because I think we all need to reframe the way we think about failure.

Admitting things that make us feel vulnerable is…well…vulnerable. But we inevitably find safety in the form of thousands of “ME TOO’s!” as soon as we expose our weaknesses.

So here goes…

I got fired from my job a year ago.

The event itself was one thing but the sequence of events leading to my “rock bottom” aftermath is nothing short of unbelievable.

I won’t bore you with the minuscule details leading up to “Kristi should check herself into the funny farm.” Suffice it to say that woven in between the words below there are a hundred other little complicated details left unsaid.

It would take a 2000-word blog post to unravel the real story.

So, here are the Cliff notes on “The Great Annihilation of 2023”

Last June, I was steamrolled by a pack of large dogs (my own included) at the dog park. This resulted in a fractured knee and a grade 4 tearing of my MCL. Having a job that requires walking 100% of the time meant there was no way to perform without the use of both legs.

No problem. I immediately filed for disability leave through unemployment insurance, thinking it would carry me for the few months I would need to recover. Disability pays nowhere near what I earned on the job but I had a little bit of savings to make up any shortfall.

About six weeks into my recovery I received my termination papers - without notice and without cause.

I completely lost my shit.

I was already running at a deficit without my paychecks, and now, not only did I not have a job, but I couldn’t go look for a new one with a wrecked knee.

I hadn’t felt so naked and afraid since I was nineteen and lying on a delivery room table about to become the mother I didn’t know how to be.

I promptly consulted a lawyer to find out if it’s even legal to fire an injured person and found out that no, it’s not. So, I retained said lawyer to draft a demand letter suing for damages. The employer shot down our settlement demand almost instantly, which led me to file a human rights case.

And here we are, a year later, with the case still pending.

I launched this newsletter at the beginning of September, 2023…

Two months after the incident, recovery was going well but still nowhere near 100%. I gauged progress on my ability to sit cross-legged, which was still a long way off in September.

So, I started this newsletter.

The original concept for Wildhood Wanted was to encourage others to go out into the world and be brave while searching for their version of “wild.” I’ve done it my fair share of times, why not help others see the light?

My idea was to launch this project while searching for a new job. Then, once I had cash rolling in again and a safely functioning knee, I was going to begin road-tripping a couple times a month and go be WILD, dammit! Just like the label on the bottle of WILD pills would instruct.

But here’s what they don’t tell you about losing your job when you're 50…