Cultivating a rooted life.

I’ve been exhausted these last several months.

Not just physically exhausted from lack of sleep and chasing around two small children. But mentally wiped out. Any downtime I had was spent mindlessly scrolling, consuming a cocktail of memes, terrible news, and 10-second videos. You know the ones.

I took a break from the internet last spring, but that didn’t even seem to touch the fatigue. My screen time was creeping up as I was scrolling more, struggling to focus for even a few minutes. I felt myself fraying in all the usual ways: too many tabs open, too many notifications, too much noise. When I turned to something analog, like a book, my brain was stuck in scroll mode.

Last spring, I found a book that put a name to what I was going through: Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. It was a startling look at why I wasn’t able to pay attention and how to think deeply again.

As much as it helped initially, it only scratched the surface of a much deeper problem.

I started craving slowness. Pen and paper. Time away from screens. Systems that didn’t require an internet connection. Working and crafting with my hands, not my laptop.

I knew something had to shift. Not just in how I read, but in how I lived.

I'm exploring an idea I call Rooted. Building slow, intentional rhythms and an analog-first lifestyle. The thoughtful keeping and curating of a more meaningful library. Reading as a lifestyle and not a productivity goal. Consuming only what truly matters and building up resilience in an increasingly noisy world. I choose what earns my attention.

My writing will center around three pillars:

• Library: Building and curating a meaningful collection of books and ideas — reading not as a productivity goal, but as a lifestyle. Choosing what truly matters and thoughtfully preserving the stories, knowledge, and inspiration that shape us.
• Living: Designing life with intention, finding calm in a noisy world, and building resilience through slow rituals, seasonal resets, gentle decluttering, and simple analog routines that restore focus and attention.
• Legacy: Preserving the stories, memories, and photos that matter most: creating a lasting archive for yourself and those you love.

Within the next few months you’ll start seeing articles on not only rebuilding your attention and learning how to read more again, but how to curate a meaningful library, rebuilding a reading habit offline, thoughtful book-keeping and choosing what to keep and what to let go of. I’ll also dive into seasonal resets and slow rituals, gentle decluttering, designing simple tools for organizing your home and ideas, attention recovery and dopamine resets through analog routines, and more.

Who am I? I’m Amanda. I’m an avid book collector and mood reader extraordinaire. Self-proclaimed family historian. Amateur baker and aspiring gardener. Exhausted mama of two. I am also a recovering digital native. 

If you’re feeling scattered, digitally exhausted, or unsure where your attention even is, you’re not alone. This space is for you — a place to reconnect with reading, slow living, and the legacies that shape our lives.