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I’m going to be honest: I’ve really missed true, authentic online connection.

Not the performative kind, not the kind driven by algorithms, but the real kind. For years, I’ve felt this gap. I’ve tried all sorts of things to get back to it—newsletters, YouTube channels, and even other podcasts —but I could never sustain any of it. It always felt like a big part of me was missing.

It wasn’t always this way.

About 15 years ago, when I was a mom with three little kids, I moved my family to a new state where I didn’t know a soul. I started a blog to connect with the people I’d left behind , and it grew into this amazing online community. It was a space where we supported each other in our darkest moments and celebrated each other in our best ones. It was a place of true camaraderie, and I loved it.

But then, the internet changed. “Influencer culture” arrived, and it just never sat right with me.

Around the same time, my professional life shifted. I became a trauma therapist, and I was given the message that I was supposed to be a “blank slate” —that I couldn’t share my own stories. I really struggled with this because I loved sharing and I deeply missed the community I’d lost. I tried to show up as an “expert,” but I couldn’t sustain it. It didn’t feel like me without my part of the story.

I stepped back and got quiet for a while. In that quiet, I realized the one thing I missed, and the thing I believe we are all craving right now, is connection and community.

I found it online 15 years ago , and I know we can get it again.

But I also realized I had to stop relying on other people—mostly rich men, let’s be honest —to create that space for us. Platforms that were once authentic, even ones like TikTok, have been taken over by algorithms that fill our feeds with “division and hate”.

So, I decided to do it myself.

I set out to create a community that has all the good stuff of being online without the negativity, the weird algorithms, and the “strange experts”. A community with no algorithms, no ads, and no arguments.

I built it because I need it, and I have a feeling you might need it, too.

Our Women of Wonder (WoW) community is a safe place to say the quiet stuff out loud, free from judgment.

Women helping other women is a tried-and-true approach for empowerment and success, not to mention laughter and love. W.o.W. offers continuous support and resources, plus access to me (Dr. Cristie), for a low-cost membership.

➡️ Join Our community: https://wonder.myflodesk.com/womenofwonder

This is my promise to you: a place that feels like all the best parts of social media (like Facebook or Instagram back in the day) but without the “politics, anger, and hate”. It’s just a safe place for women to connect, to collaborate, to laugh, and to feel loved.

I hope to see you inside.