Introducing Issue No. 12

INTRODUCING ISSUE 12!

So much is happening with the Darling Movement that we were inspired to center this new issue around the idea of a “spark.” What we mean is, there are times to sit and think, to hold back, to wait, and there are times to green light, to jump, to turn our backs on fear and just go for it.

That’s the spirit of this issue.

You’ll read about anything from embracing our uniqueness in a sea of humanity to finding a purpose, to taking action even if it feels too late, to overcoming hard times and coming to a place of life again and seeking a deeper meaning in even the simplest of acts.

This issue’s articles are timely and sincere and have been sparking conversation among our staff and at our Darling Dinners. Our cover was shot in South Africa, and there is something about its warm, deep, amber colored light that we just had to carry throughout the whole issue. All in all, you need these words and beautiful visuals in your life. They hold the love and motivation you want and crave during this summer season of adventure.

Read on below to get a sneak-peek inside Issue No. 12:

Excerpt from the Letter From The Editor:

There is something about fire that we desire to dwell in our bones, in our hearts. An engine that keeps us going, a strength that keeps us believing and a passion that wakes us up from the mundane. We remember our need for it when certain moments seem to strike like matches against our very souls — those split seconds after we jumped and heard our parachute inflate, the time we opened our lips and let long-held words finally escape, or when we felt our will let go of its controlling grip on our life. These tiny sparks explode into raging fires if we let them, filling our hearts with the conviction to change, the desire to act, the will to reframe our thinking.

Inside The Dreamer | A look at how knowing we are entirely original can boost our own sense of self and purpose.

Yet though we each have the same basic components of blood, water, skin and bones, how is it that no two stories are exactly the same, no personalities alike?

Inside The Achiever | A feature on actress Meghan Markle (of Suits) + Founder of The TIG who discusses what it’s like to really go after a dream and not give up.

“She saw all that self-doubt beaming through the self-tanner and excessive blush.

‘You need to know that you’re enough,’ she said. ‘Less makeup, more Meghan. ‘

She went on to say that I was like a ‘shrinking violet,’ wilted joy and energy and exuberance behind this shroud of insecurity. You couldn’t pay for a therapy session this good. And that moment, for me, was a wake-up call.”

Inside The Intellectual | A piece on how “small talk” can actually lead to real, meaningful talk if we are willing to give people a chance.

However, “surviving” small talk implies that it doesn’t matter — that we should walk away from conversations unharmed, unaffected, but let’s stop thinking of small talk as a means to an end. Let’s make it a beginning. How do we do that? We practice the art of small talk until we become our very own Picasso.

Inside The Stylist | A vulnerable and uplifting take on how suffering can bring about joy by Lauren Scruggs Kennedy, a fashion journalist and blogger who survived an incident walking into an airplane’s spinning propeller, losing her left eye and severing her left hand.

“I was the natural beach-wave hair, no makeup kind of girl, and rarely was concerned about how anyone would view me. I knew who I was. After the accident, I deeply missed feeling that careless ease. I hated this new struggle that had entered into my life.”

Inside The Beautician | The most vulnerable interview you might have read yet with five members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. 

“First of all, the goals need to be truly healthy ones, but throw out the popular idea of what this means. Healthy doesn’t mean skinny or fake or “all done up.” Healthy means you feeling good. I know that can be hard when women are so often inundated by images from popular culture, and their self-worth measured by their looks, but it’s all about what makes you happy, and being realistic about that. Be authentic to who you are, and you will start to glow.” –Meghan Rapinoe

Inside The Explorer | A feature on Minka Kelly (of Friday Night Lights) and fashionABLE, a company you’ll want to support after reading the backstory. 

When I told my story, there was a big shift in the room and we all started hugging and kissing on cheeks and crying. We spent the rest of the day singing in the rain, eating and enjoying coffee. I made a promise to them that it would be my honor and duty to share their stories in every way I could — and to ensure that work was there for them to invest in.

Darling subscribers are always the first to receive Issue No. 12. You can save $70 over the course of the year and gain free access to all of our previous digital issues by becoming one, here!