Real talk. Real life. No apologies.
I’m Shirl — writer, strategist, and a Black woman who says what she means.
I'm Shirl.
I’ve spent 30 years in boardrooms and community spaces watching people dance around the truth. Say It Lady is what happens when I stop doing that.
New here? Start with these three.
Three essays that tell you exactly what this place is.
Latest
We Lost Something When We Stopped Writing Letters. I Am Coming to Get It Back.
I collect stationery I do not write on nearly enough. That is ending. A defense of the handwritten letter, the well-turned phrase, the scented envelope, and the lost art of telling someone off in perfect King’s English.
The Wood Is Patient. So Am I.
I build furniture when the world gets to be too much. I am an old soul running a very modern life. The sweetest spot is somewhere in between – and a coffee table with three legs is teaching me everything about patience.
The Girlfriend Voice, the Bulldozer, and Three Types of Power Nobody Taught You About.
Position power. Expert power. Connection power. Black women have been running all three simultaneously since before it had a name. Meet Mavis. And the bulldozer she is covering for.