Happy Sunday!
I want to talk about something a little uncomfortable this morning. Money. Ugh. Even typing that makes me cringe.
I started The Lioness Writes as a passion project because I felt like I had to do something to counter the campaign against Israel and Jews. I wanted to document the history, challenge the misinformation, and put facts back into conversations where they’d been conveniently left out. I never imagined it would grow into something I now do way more than full-time.
But…there’s a business side to running an independent publication, and it’s the part I hate talking about because it makes me feel icky. Unfortunately, sometimes I don’t have a choice.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve received notifications from Stripe that a couple of paid subscribers disputed their subscription charges through their banks.
I completely understand that The Lioness Writes isn’t for everybody. Maybe your interests have changed, your budget has changed, or you’ve simply decided you don’t want another subscription. That’s perfectly fine, and I completely understand.
But here’s what happens when someone disputes a subscription charge through Stripe...
Let’s say, hypothetically, that each annual subscription was $65. When someone disputes that charge through their bank, I don’t just pay back $65. I’m also hit with an additional $50 in dispute fees.
That’s $115 per person, or $230 for two disputed subscriptions. Nearly the equivalent of four annual subscriptions at that hypothetical price.
For a publication run by one person, that’s a lot of money.
I don’t know how the big media companies handle these things, but there’s a difference between canceling a subscription so it doesn’t renew and asking your bank to reverse a charge for something you’ve already had access to for more than a few months.
If you no longer want to subscribe, please cancel. No hard feelings, I promise. And if there’s a billing problem, please reach out so we can try to resolve it.
I hate having to bring this up, but the business side is what allows me to continue doing this work. I take every paid subscription seriously, and I hope you’ll extend the same consideration to the person on the other end.
Now, on to something else I’ve been thinking about.
I’m going to try to take a little sabbatical from the heavier investigations.
I’ve spent so much time lately reading about extremist organizations, political influence, terrorist networks, and some truly disturbing things happening around the world that it’s started following me into my sleep. I’m having nightmares. Actual nightmares. And that’s assuming I can actually fall asleep that night.
And I figure if I’m feeling this way after researching and writing about these subjects every day, some of you might be feeling pretty overwhelmed reading about them, too.
So I’m going to give myself permission to step away from the really heavy stuff for a little while. Not forever. I still have investigations in progress, and I’ll come back to them. But I need to enjoy writing and sleeping again, and I’d like you to enjoy reading without feeling like you need a stiff drink afterward.
I’m going back to something I absolutely love: the forgotten, overlooked, and rarely told stories of Jewish history. The people, places, communities, and incredible chapters that so many of us never learned about. The kind of stories that make you say, “Wait, how did I not know this?”
And judging by how much fun we’ve been having with the Jewish delis, Jewish mothers, folklore, and some of the more unusual corners of Jewish history, I think we’re going to have a good time.
Anyway, I hope you’ve had a wonderful week and an even better weekend.
Let’s get into it!
If you’re new around here, welcome!
This is a good place to begin. It covers some of the Jewish and Israeli history that keeps getting left out of conversations and links to quite a few of my other articles.
And if you finish it wanting to explore further, there are plenty of places to go from there.
My Notes are where I share the things that catch my attention between articles. Sometimes it’s breaking news, sometimes a little-known piece of Jewish history, and sometimes something that makes me laugh.
Here are a few from this week:
I’m having so much fun with these Lives that I’ve decided to make them a regular Monday morning event!
Every Monday at 10 a.m. Eastern, I’ll be going Live with a special guest. I’m planning to keep our conversations around 30–45 minutes, giving us time to explore interesting topics, ask questions, and hear from people with different experiences and areas of expertise.
Tomorrow…Nov. 2nd at 10 am EST I’ll be going live with the prolific, fabulous
Wednesday, November 18 — 10 a.m. Pacific / 1 p.m. Eastern
My conversation with will premiere on YouTube, Substack, and podcast platforms.
If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to visit the YouTube page and give the video a Like ahead of the premiere. It helps signal interest to YouTube and may help the episode reach more people.
The Lioness Writes is independent, and paid subscriptions make it possible for me to continue researching and publishing full-time.
Some of my longer investigations are reserved for paid subscribers, but I’ll continue sharing daily Notes and free full-length articles every week.
Paid subscribers also get access to our bi-weekly, Subscriber-only Lives, where we can have conversations, ask questions, and talk about the stories behind the articles.
Become a paid subscriber and get full access to The Lioness Writes.
If another subscription isn’t in your budget but you want to help support this publication, you can always ** buy me a coffee** instead. There’s no ongoing commitment, and every contribution is appreciated.
And to everyone who reads, comments, shares my articles, or sends me a message, thank you. I receive more messages than I can always answer, and I’m sorry when I don’t get back to someone. I do read them, and I try to respond as often as I can.
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Melissa ❤️
