What Torsion Is
We’re not the first Healthcare Newsletter out there. We’re definitely not the first healthcare-based e-mail you’re going to get.
To me, what Torsion represents, if you choose to subscribe, is a piece of writing focused on what people with rare diseases, complex presentations, and scary hard or ludicrous healthcare journeys that are so normal it’s actually insulting for everyone involved.
If you’ve ever gotten healthcare, you know better than I do that sometimes the processes don’t make sense. There is science in healthcare and there is also folklore, in that sometimes the best way to care for ourselves still isn’t a medical fact but something passed down from family to family. Sometimes there are systemic issues that nobody takes accountability for, and maybe they’re right, but the result is that lots of people fall through the cracks.
This Newsletter can’t solve all those thing. But maybe it can give you the one thing I had to cobble together on my own like most people do - information, resources, possibly validation and the words to describe a lonely, painful, or scary experience.
If Torsion helps one person learn one thing, then the whole newsletter accomplished its goal.
What Torsion is Not
This is not a newsletter I started to make a billion dollars, because hospitals and insurance companies are doing a fine job of that and I’m uninterested in joining their ranks. I’m not saying this couldn’t be successful, I’m saying what this is not is a money grab. I’m currently evolving my understanding of ethical monetization as someone who has spent a long, long time reviewing payment clauses and a longer time of being a grumpy consumer with no money.
This is not an email cascade for your email inbox.
This is not something you should do if you don’t want to.
This is not something that is completely polished, either. I’ve been writing since I was tiny, and I can tell you most writers and business owners are screwing up and figuring it out as they go and barely managing success. That means Torsion is something that may not always work the way you want it to or even the way I want it to. If that happens, you are absolutely allowed to make that comment and say something. You can even unsubscribe.
You are absolutely not allowed to abuse or harass the nice people who want to write with me, and abusive language/threats will be treated at their face value. Torsion is a safe space for everyone to be a person, and that means imperfect, and it is not a newsletter I will let anyone tear another person down in. We are human. That’s the point of all this.
The Editor of Torsion
Hi, I’m Jessica Algoo, J.D.
I’m a writer of a few awards and accolades but no fame at all. Social media terrifies me and I treat it as one should a wild animal - with appreciation for its beauty, and a very, very careful plan to keep myself safe which mostly involves distance. I started this newsletter because I have what has often been described as a complex medical presentation of various rare illnesses, but what I suspect is actually just a normal human body in a system designed by insurance companies since I live in the United States.
I want to make this newsletter to help people. That’s it, that’s the whole evil plan. I don’t need Torsion to be a wild success because I’m already successful. I want the writing to mean something, for readers to have access to care and information they didn’t have before, and for someone to know that another person who doesn’t even know their name finally gets it because if you’re dealing with something, someone else is, and that can matter in ways we didn’t realize.
You are not a problem, a mistake, or an inconvenience for being mortal. That’s not a lie I believe any longer. And if this project and very amateur editor sounds like someone that can give you even one moment of value, peace, or information, then please subscribe. And then unsubscribe the minute it isn’t useful, because nobody needs more useless email.
Torsion’s Roadmap
Now: Today, we have a logo I’m not completely sure is accessible so may need to redo, 1 interested reader, and 1 interested writer. We have a possible sponsorship. I have 5 articles planned and am focused on ensuring the Newsletter itself is accessible.
Next: I am doing some research on how to open Torsion to other artists ethically given that I can’t offer money, so I’m unsure at this point whether there will be other writers. Writers deserve to be paid for their work, so I want to ensure they’re clear on what this newsletter can offer before allowing guest posts, etc.
Later: Like every single quarterly writing project I do, I do a quarterly assessment (as they use the term in Corporate America) as to whether or not something is worth continuing.
Sometimes it’s worth doing for putting something good in the world.
Sometimes the analytics are compelling.
Sometimes you get a feeling something could be big and that’s good enough, even if it’ll take years to work or may never.
All those things are reasons I might continue. I assess writing projects quarterly because there isn’t any money in writing, so I pivot and/or balance my hobby with my day job like most artists, I just schedule it so it’s easier for me to remember. In October, I will assess whether Torsion is worth continuing. If you feel it is or isn’t, feel free to let me know either way.
Final Thoughts
If you’re still here, thanks for reading. I hope Torsion sounds interesting, but even if it doesn’t, I appreciate you being here and giving it a shot. As a writer, that’s really all I can ask. Leave comments below if you’d like.
And finally, a hand-written thank you note because you deserve it:
A handwritten Digital Thank You Note with a white background and dark blue text. The words are Thank You for Being You, and the last You is underline with a period at the end.