🪴 About This Space

Hi, I’m Viva.

I’m a California native—a coastal girl raised by sunshine and ocean.
I built my career in San Francisco, deep in the world of politics and policy, and now I’m back in Los Angeles—home—not just to care for my mom, but to care for policy, too.

I’ve spent my adult life working inside systems I knew were broken.
But caregiving brought that brokenness into full view—complicated, exhausting, and painfully personal.
So I decided to write about it.

This Substack began as a space to process all of that.
To tell the truth about care—what it costs us, what it teaches us, and how it could look if we centered the people most impacted by it.

I’m writing through the caregiving journey, I’m also deeply invested in caring for myself—and imagining the future I want to help build.

One where care is possible, not performative.
Where women can show up as they are—tired, brilliant, healing, hopeful—and still belong.

That’s this space.
And I know: to fully show up, we still need real policies in place.
We still need to do the work.

I’m hoping to connect with women who are working hard—
Mothers raising families, daughters caring for aging parents, women navigating fertility, pregnancy, or menopause—
All while still trying to care for the world around them.

If that’s you, you’re in the right place.

And even if you’re not a woman, this space is for you too.
Listening and learning are powerful acts of care—
They’re part of how women feel seen, supported, and free to be their fullest selves.

I’m delighted to welcome anyone who wants to learn from the stories I share.
Your presence here matters too.

Each post here reflects what I’ve come to believe:
That our personal stories deserve to shape public policy.
That care work—both seen and unseen—matters deeply.
And that care is still the strategy.

I’ll continue sharing:

• Reflections from my caregiving journey

• One small care policy idea at a time

• Practices to support your brain and body

That part will always be free.

✨ Coming Soon

This space is growing.
Not just as a writing space, but into something more rooted in real life—
The kind shaped by caregiving, holding it down, navigating systems, and trying to find small sparks of joy in the in-between.

It will be a space for connection and care—for people who’ve been carrying a lot, quietly and consistently.

If you’ve been feeling adjacent, curious, care-weary, or quietly powerful—
I’d love to have you here as this next chapter unfolds.

You don’t have to prove anything to be here.
Just bring your real self, your layered life, and your deep care.

We’re expanding the table.
And care is still the strategy.

With care (always),

Viva

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