Love Letter from Leah – Safety in Beauty, Romancing in Savannah, and Gentle Holiday Nourishment
Your monthly dose of soft nourishment from Leah @ TNS
My fellow Nourished Sensitives,
Can I be like, completely honest with you guys for a sec?
Do you have the space?
I’m tired. Like, really, really tired.
Maybe you’re feeling it too, with the holidays coming up?
It’s actually 2:00am in Atlanta, and instead of sleeping, I’m writing what feels like the thousandth draft of this letter with my laptop wobbling on a pale-yellow flamingo throw pillow. These early-morning wakings seem to be coming more often lately.
When I can’t fall back asleep, sometimes I’ll scroll through my camera roll. It helps. Every moment of beauty I’ve encountered these past six months soothes and reminds me of how I’ve changed and grown.
Sunrises over Mount Mansfield, like God holding a coffee cup whispering “good morning.” The skyline glowing behind Union Methodist Church in Boston’s South End neighborhood. Watching the stars come out in the hammock with my cup of grief tea the vet gave us after Mika passed. The light sparkling on the water at the Bird Sanctuary in Asheville, and the words “Hippocampus Ghost” graffitied on a wall in east Atlanta that I still think about. Who doesn’t have one or two of those?
Then there’s Savannah. Oh Savannah, that dreamy little bohemian cottage with hydrangeas blooming at the door, plants in every windowsill, slow afternoons at the Superbloom Cafe, and the moss-draped trees. Like a romance novel.
Sometimes recalling beauty is the only thing that settles me down.
Turns out, beauty is actually neuro-protective. It lowers cortisol. Signals safety. Brings us back to rest-and-digest.
No wonder my camera roll feels like a medicine cabinet.
This enough to keep us new romantics going for months.
🖤 xoxo, Leah
PS. Life Update: Once I wrap up my travel commitments in mid-January, my heart is set on moving back to Savannah. It feels like a place where I can root again—care for my plants, volunteer, go to church, make friends, put a vase in the windowsill. Savannah was a genuinely happy place for me. Here’s a small entry in my travel diary from that time. 🥰
Deeper Life Update (for the real besties):
Now that we’re caught up…can I share something a little more vulnerable?
Underneath the highlight reel is a truth I’ve been hiding. Truth is, I feel like a woman six months pregnant (not actually) with her own potential and a creative vision as tender and demanding as a child.
Over the last six months, I’ve been growing TNS while also piecing together housing, income, and self-understanding as a late-diagnosed autistic woman with ADHD. It’s a lot to carry alone. There have been stress-spasm nights, mornings without a plan for where I’d live next, and days showing up for patients and circles while holding the weight of uncertainty.
I’m not sharing this for sympathy. I’m sharing it because honesty feels lighter than pretending I’m fine. If this community is rooted in truth and compassion, then my truth needs to be part of it.
And the truth is: I need support to keep going.
If I’m ever going to settle somewhere stable—maybe Savannah, maybe somewhere else—and continue building this sanctuary for sensitive souls, I can’t do it alone.
If this work has nourished you or helped you feel less alone, I’m asking humbly:
Please consider supporting this sanctuary by upgrading your subscription.
It would mean far more than you’'ll ever know.
Here’s what you’d be supporting:
Our Mission
To unite humans across the spectrum to foster mutual growth, holistic wellness, and learning, helping us live authentically and contribute our unique light into the world.
Our Vision
A global ecosystem where sensitive leadership is normalized and celebrated; where our magazine, podcast, and gatherings serve as mycelium network for a new generation of sensitive creatives shaping culture with empathy, artistry, and care.
How You Can Support This Sanctuary
🌱 Become a Paying Member ($22/month or $155/year).
The most direct way to sustain this work. Members receive the Holistic Guide to Thriving, access to the podcast, our private community chat, invites to all events, and my deep gratitude.
🌱 Support the Work as a Founding Gardener ($222/annual)
If you’re resourced and feel called to support the long-term vision, Founding Gardeners help me create sustainably. You’ll receive a 1:1 session with me and be invited into co-creative opportunities within TNS.
🌱 Share my work.
Forward a post, share an episode, or engage on Notes. These small gestures help this sanctuary reach the people who need it most.
🌱 Show up.
Come to circles, comment, connect. This community is built on belonging, warmth, reflection, and genuine care—not performance or pressure.
Thank you for being here, for witnessing this story, and for helping keep beauty alive in a world that doesn’t always support the soft heart.
Before we go further into this letter, I want to check in with you:
What’s been beautiful for you lately?
What have you been quietly carrying on your own?
What kind of support do you need?
Feel free to hit reply to share. 🖤
There’s space for you here. I’m listening. And I’m grateful we get to walk this path together here in The Nourished Sensitive Collective.
Now, let’s step into the garden to see what’s been growing.
Upcoming Gatherings in the TNSC Sanctuary
Through the holidays and into the new year, we’re gathering around themes of peace, inner quiet, authenticity, and simple nourishment for sensitives.
We hope you’ll join us for one or more gatherings 👇
Note: All events are open to everyone. Membership is a way of supporting the sanctuary and long-term vision of TNS not gating access to community and support.
Featured Events
1. Sensitive Sanctuary Circle with Leah
Every two weeks, we gather in a cozy, gentle space to breathe, soften, and reconnect with ourselves and each other. Our next circle is Monday, Nov 24th 6:30–7:45p ET.
We’ll explore:
• inner peace in your own system
• grounding tools for emotional regulation
• reconnecting with your natural pace
• creating inner spaciousness during a busy season
About the Facilitator: Leah Tarleton, MS, RDN is a holistic dietitian, writer, space holder, and creator of The Nourished Sensitive. As a facilitator, Leah weaves nervous system wisdom, creative expression, and compassionate nourishment into every gathering, offering a space where sensitivity can thrive.
2. Somatic Root & Rise with Tori
After the holidays, our newest member Tori will guide us through a grounding somatic practice to help us reset, breathe, and feel more at home in our bodies.
We’ll explore:
• gentle somatic + breathwork practices
• reconnecting with natural rhythms and cues
• emotional safety + internal centering
• releasing tension + inviting clarity
• rising into your power with steadiness
About the Facilitator: Tori Carroll is a somatic practitioner and creator of Transform with Tori, where she guides women in reclaiming safety, presence, and authenticity in their bodies. Instagram @transformwith.tori + Substack at
3. Create Your 2026 Nourished Sensitive Vision Workshop
One of last year’s most loved gatherings is returning!
This gathering offers you a spacious moment to pause, reflect on the past twelve months, and reconnect with what truly matters heading into 2026.
We’ll work through:
• a holistic visioning workbook using the Nine Elements of Nourishment
• guided prompts, meditation, and optional card pulls
• creating an intuitive 2026 vision board (digital or physical)
This workshop is for you if:
You want intention—not pressure—as you enter the new year and you’re craving community, creativity, and guided reflection to empower your new year goals.
4. Biweekly Spiritual Growth Circles with Cosmic Marina
One of our founding members, Marina, will be offering a biweekly circle for spiritual growth in the new year made for intuitive development, self-healing, and grounding.
We’ll explore:
• intuitive awareness + inner voice
• tarot + psychic foundations
• grounding + energetic resilience
• self-compassion + gentle shadow work
You don’t need to consider yourself “spiritual” to benefit from these circles. Each session with Marina will provides spacious reflection in a non-pressured community.
About the Facilitator: Marina Biggio is the founder of Cosmic Marina, where she offers intuitive readings and soulful tools for self-discovery. She brings a deeply compassionate, trauma-sensitive approach to her work. www.cosmicmarina.com.
🌱 Under the Soil: What’s Growing?
1. 30 Days of Nourishment Notes Series
A daily invitation to come home to yourself through simple, soulful prompts inspired by the Nine Elements of Nourishment Framework™. Across 30 days, we’ll explore how sensitivity shows up in our bodies, relationships, creativity, and inner lives.
Some recent reflections (click to read):
Day 1: where have you recently felt your sensitivity as a good thing?
Day 5: true nourishment goes beyond food.
Day 7: what gives you the courage to stand up for what you believe in?
2. Download the Holistic Guide to Thriving for Sensitives
A heart-centered digital guide to help you understand your sensitivity as fertile ground for healing, creativity, and growth. It walks you through my signature Nine Elements of Nourishment Framework™ with practical tools and gentle reflections.
Inside, you’ll:
🌱 Clarify what needs nourishment right now across nine life domains
🌸 Discover your Nourished Sensitive Archetype & Growth Phase
🌼 Create a personalized growth roadmap for this season of your life
🌙 Envision your next chapter with a values-aligned vision board
The Nine Elements of Nourishment Framework™
The Nine Elements of Nourishment Framework™ is an integrative mind–body–spirit health framework I created to support highly sensitive and neurodivergent humans across the spectrum in finding lasting wellness. Rooted in my holistic training in Dynamic Eating & Health Psychology, it has since helped hundreds of clients improve their relationship with food, body, self-trust, and rhythms in a grounded, holistic way.
Interested in Holistic Health Coaching in the New Year?
If you’re longing for a more nourishing, aligned way of living that supports your sensitive nervous system rather than overwhelming it—I’d love to support you.
The Nourish to Flourish Coaching Journey is designed for sensitives and neurodivergent folks who want clarity, structure, and gentle accountability without pressure or rigidity. Each journey is tailored to your season of life.
Through the Nine Elements Framework™, we’ll help you:
• understand what your mind, body, and spirit are asking for
• reduce overwhelm + reconnect with your inner voice
• create sustainable, supportive daily rhythms and routines
• heal your relationship with nourishment, rest, and self-trust
• feel more rooted, steady, and authentically yourself
If you’re craving deeper support or a safer nervous system, you can learn more, apply for coaching, or schedule a free Connect Call below.
3. Nourished Sensitive Podcast – Season 02 Coming Soon!
The Nourished Sensitive Podcast is entering a new season! We’ve already recorded twelve episodes and are now preparing to work with a production team to bring the show fully to life. This season explores emotional healing, nervous system care, identity, belonging, creativity, and spiritual growth to help you feel supported, seen, and anchored in your sensitivity. Featuring a wide range of sensitive leaders as guests.
While we finalize the launch, you can listen to our second episode featuring a beautiful conversation with somatic yoga teacher and writer Bettina Schelkle.
4. TNS Magazine – Sensitivity in a Whole New Light
When I was thirteen years old, my favorite film was Thirteen Going on Thirty. I must have watched it like three hundred times, and dreamed of becoming like Jenna. 🥹
And guess what? It’s happening! We’re putting life back into the magazine at TNS.
TNS Magazine is my dream baby. I envision it as a future home for sensitive, intuitive, and neurodivergent souls to feel deeply seen, understood, and nourished.
What makes the TNS Magazine special:
• sensitivity-affirming — celebrating sensitivity as a gift
• community-centered — featuring real members, not influencers
• slow & intentional — created with care, not urgency
• holistic — weaving mind, body, soul, creativity, and community
• values-based — grounded in depth, presence, and belonging
• collaborative — building alongside the TNS podcast
• archival — preserving the voices of sensitive people stepping into visibility
If this vision speaks to you, your support helps bring it to life.
Your subscription to TNS helps fund:
fair compensation for contributors
graphic design, layout, and production
print or digital distribution
Thank you for being here, for witnessing this story, and for helping keep beauty alive. Here’s a blessing from my heart to yours, for the holiday season.
Hey, it’s your friend, Leah. I created The Nourished Sensitive as a sanctuary for deep feelers, intuitive thinkers, and creative spirits. I’d love to get to know you better. Hit reply to this email or message me on Substack to tell me a little about yourself:
your creative projects and work as a sensitive human
how you found this online garden sanctuary
or what you’re discovering about sensitivity this season
I read every message and always reply.
It’s so fun to see everything you have lined up!
I love everything you’re doing! Especially the magazine idea 😊😊😊 I would love to contribute or help with that, if you’re interested. I used to be obsessed with magazines. I seriously considered becoming a journalist so that I could write for a magazine.