Skip to main content

Natural Awakenings Atlanta

Letter from Publisher: Talk To Me!

Mar 01, 2021 08:30AM ● By Paul Chen
It crept up on me, unnoticed, until I sat down to write this letter: With this issue, I complete four years of publishing Natural Awakenings.

And what I want to say on this anniversary is that I don’t hear enough from you, dear reader. Yet when I do hear from you, it’s always wonderful.

Well, almost always.

One time a woman berated me for unleashing demons all across Atlanta; she claimed that something we published opened the door to the netherworld. Calling from a MARTA bus, having borrowed the driver’s phone, she told me about an enormous, winged demon perched on the roof of an office building. When she called again, from another borrowed phone, it was unnerving.

But that was the only bizarre caller. Recently, I received a compliment that I nearly swooned over: “When I read your magazine, I know I’m going to be enlightened,” Nancy Tao, a public relations professional, told me.

That was the best! Because here at Natural Awakenings, readers come first. A few of my favorites include calls from several individuals wanting dozens of copies for their large family reunions; a woman who was bemoaning the fact that her son accidentally threw out years of archived issues; and two African American women who called after we published Black and Vegan in Atlanta, a special section in our August 2019 issue. Each of them said to me, honest to God, “I love you!”     

Indeed, while I could do a much better job at several aspects of this business, editorial is not one of them. Over the past few years, the magazine has been supremely blessed with a dazzling array of talent, including managing editors Sarah Buehrle and Diane Eaton; yoga editors Graham Fowler and Sheila Ewers; design and layout gurus Lisa Castro, Kristin Hutchinson, and Steffi Kern; my younger son, staff writer and video producer Noah Chen; as well as a host of contributors, too many to name, but not to appreciate in full.

Tooting our horn here serves the larger purpose of proving and pledging to you, dear reader, that you are always number one. My very first issue earned this stunning praise from the then-national editor: “I believe this is the strongest local editorial I’ve seen in terms of quality and quantity in a single issue outside of our flagship. And definitely in a first issue!”

That was four years ago. We’ve only gotten better since then.

While feedback to last month’s special section, Healing the Trauma of Slavery, has been light thus far, it has been 100% positive, starting with the woman we interviewed extensively, Dr. Joy DeGruy, author of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. After seeing what we published, she said: “Wow, this is THE most comprehensive article that I have ever read regarding generational trauma and African Americans!!!”

Coming from the woman who wrote the book—literally!—we feel quite honored.

Excellent editorial fulfills our mission. As I wrote in my first Letter from the Publisher: “My intention and mission as a publisher is to connect you who are awakening in Atlanta to the information, resources, opportunities and people that can assist you on your path and accelerate your progress.”

Healing the Trauma of Slavery has already reaped unexpected rewards. I was shocked to discover that the Black and Vegan special section wasn’t just a nice group of stories; for some people, it demonstrated that they were actually being seen. I am even more humbled to hear that Blacks are also feeling heard with last month’s special section. It is stunning to think that our work is helping some people understand something about their heritage that explains how they show up today.

Yet while I will take this moment to revel in the job we do, we can always do better. And one of the things I’ve yet to do, despite having a lot of experience in market research, is to gain a better understanding of what’s important to you.

So I ask a favor: Take our survey. It will only take about six minutes. The first 100 respondents will have the opportunity to win $25. In fact, your chances of winning are pretty good—one in ten—because we’re giving away a maximum of $250.

Go here to take the survey: bit.ly/na-survey-0321

Of course, you can always reach out to me at [email protected]. However, solid survey results will help us fulfill your wants and needs better than ever before. And we always strive to be better than before.

Paul Chen, Publisher
Mailing List

Subscribe To Our Newsletter!

* indicates required