Oh hey there 👋🏽

Photo: Elena Mudd

Photo: Elena Mudd

I’m Rachel, a professional writer and editor living in Brooklyn, NY. Service journalism is my jam. I’m currently the Editor-in-Chief of SELF. I also have a blog and newsletter. My second book, The Art of Showing Up, came out May 12, 2020.

I was a Senior Lifestyle Editor at BuzzFeed for four years (Oct. 2014-Jan. 2019), a role that included managing a team of writers and video producers, and I published my first book, Dot Journaling―A Practical Guide, in July 2017. I was also Deputy Editor, Life at VICE and a Senior Editor at Vox.

I’ve written for the New York Times, The Hairpin, HuffPost, SELF, The Knot, and A Practical Wedding, and I’ve been a guest on Good Morning America, The TODAY Show, CNN, ABC News, NPR, and WNYC.

If you want to get in touch, send me an an email! (If you want to set up an interview relating to either of my books, please email Jennifer Hergenroeder.) You can also follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram.

Below, you can find my best writing, the best pieces I’ve edited, and links to TV and radio appearances.

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The best things I’ve written

The best $16 I ever spent: Old Navy pajamas after my husband left

Even on my worst days, putting on clean, cozy clothes always made me feel a little bit less bad, a little bit more human.

How to Say No During Wedding Season

A save-the-date card is not a subpoena.

A Beginner's Guide for 'Straight' Women Who Want to Act on Queer Feelings

If you're questioning your heterosexuality and/or interested in dating women for the first time: You've come to the right place.

How to Talk to Relatives Who Care More About Looting Than Black Lives

If you're not Black but want to support BLM, having fraught conversations with your kinda (or definitely) racist loved ones will likely not be fun, but it’s a very worthy undertaking.

Giving Myself A Dress Code Changed My Dang Life

Arbitrary wardrobe rules can be oppressive and terrible...unless you’re the one setting them.

Shantay, You Pay: Inside the Heavy Financial Burden of Going On ‘Drag Race’

As drag has gotten more mainstream, it’s gotten further from its DIY roots—and performing on the biggest stage is becoming prohibitively expensive.

'RHOP' and the Hypocrisy of 'Your Behavior Is Bad for Black Women'

Yes, it’s wrong to punch someone in the head—but not because it validates negative (racist) stereotypes.

The Answer to All of Your Social Distancing Loophole Questions Is No

Viruses don’t operate by potential carriers’ best intentions. They operate exclusively by our actions.

I Tried The Hipster Toothbrush That’s All Over Facebook And TBH I Loved It

If you love your iPhone, Amazon Prime, and Warby Parker glasses, you'll probably like the Quip.

Here's How To Use A Bullet Journal For Better Mental Health

A way to keep it all together when things are falling apart.

Wedding Etiquette Rules Every Grown-Ass Adult Should Know

Ah, wedding season: a time of laughter, love, tears, drunk uncles, and a whole lot of confusing rules and expectations.

Being Organized Is A Gift I Give Myself And Other People

I'm not "naturally" organized, but I try my best to be the shit-together person I wish to see in the world.

How Often You Really Need To Shower (According To Science)

Let's talk about your filth.

🔥 7.1 million views

A More Or Less Definitive Guide To Showing Up For Friends

Showing up is at the core of creating and maintaining, strong meaningful bonds with friends, family, coworkers, and Internet pals. It’s what turns the people you know into your people.

15 Tips From Marie Kondo That Have Genuinely Changed My Life

Here's the most inspiring and practical advice that I took away from the KonMari book nearly four years ago, and that I still use.

🔥 1.5 million views

The Peace Of A Puzzle

When it feels like the world is falling apart, literally putting something back together is powerful.

19 Practical Ways To Get Through Your Bad Season

The Bad Season is the annual 2-4 month period of the year when you just feel sad, mad, uncomfortable in your own skin, and angry at all of your clothes. Here are some things that might help you cope.

How To Spend Christmas Alone

If you’re thinking about or planning on spending Christmas alone or alone-ish and have some questions/concerns, I’m here to talk you through it!

How My Glasses Showed Me That I'm My Father's Daughter

Learning that I needed glasses again, 10 years after Lasik surgery, made me realize that the things you inherit from your parents aren’t always within your control.

Why Venmo Is My Favorite Sympathy Card

Turns out, the app that is mostly used to pay for your share of Ubers and bar tabs is also a fantastic way to be there for someone when they are in crisis.

Friday Night Chores Are The Gateway To A Great Weekend

Doing chores on Friday nights changed my damn life.

A Practical Guide to Making Friends

I, for one, would like to see more women’s magazines devote as much space to the topic of friendship as they do to romantic relationships. “101 Ways to Please Your Friends This Weekend!” “Exactly What To Say to Blow Your Friend’s Mind Tonight!”

A Practical Guide to Breaking Up with Friends

Remember to let yourself grieve.

Sauce Theory

If you're trying to eat healthier, keeping your core list of staples small(ish) and putting your effort into low-maintenance but flavorful dressings, sauces, and toppings can help you add variety without wasting a ton of time, money, and food.

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The best things I’ve edited

The Forgotten Story Of The Radium Girls, Whose Deaths Saved Thousands Of Lives by Kate Moore

During World War I, hundreds of young women went to work in clock factories, painting watch dials with luminous radium paint. But after the girls — who literally glowed in the dark after their shifts — began to experience gruesome side effects, they began a race-against-time fight for justice that would forever change US labor laws.

🔥 2.8 million views

I’m Terrible, Thanks For Asking by Nora McInerny Purmort

After my husband died, my father died, and I lost my second pregnancy — all in the span of six weeks — everyone wanted to know how I was doing. And everyone heard the same thing: "I’m fine.”

Here’s What My Parents’ 1974 Wedding Would Cost In 2017 Dollars by Meg Keene

My parents' San Francisco wedding cost about $2,000, which in today’s money is roughly $10K. What it would actually cost to throw their wedding in 2017 is a whole other story.

🔥 1 million views

17 Things No One Tells You About Being On "Jeopardy!" by Terri Pous

As told by a two-time champ.

🔥 1.4 million views

Why The World Went Wild for Pumpkin Spice by Virginia Chamlee

The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte has been ordered millions of times, inspired dozens of copycats, and become something much bigger than a coffee drink. It was thisclose to being a different beverage entirely.

Introducing My Parents To My Boyfriend Meant Introducing Them To Me by Tom Vellner

It’s one thing to know your son is gay — it’s another to see the proof.

I Style Dead People by Virginia Chamlee

Even in death, everyone is striving for that perfect no-makeup makeup look.

Here's What It Takes To Be A Full-Time Disney Princess by Virginia Chamlee

Keeping the magic is sometimes all about having the right shade of lipstick.

Here’s What Three Astrologers Think The Eclipse Means For Horoscopes by Terri Pous

“When there are eclipses in Leo, astrologers historically have linked them to the coming of a ruler or the downfall of one.”

The World Is Ending, Just As It’s Always Been by Terri Pous

Humans have often feared that the apocalypse is nigh. So why does it feel like things are worse now than they’ve ever been? And what, if anything, can we do about it?

My Makeup Routine Is My Morning Meditation by Gyan Yankovich

I don’t need an adult coloring book when I can fill in my eyebrows.

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