About - jen dyck-sprout

Who am I?

That’s what I’m trying to figure out! For real.

A work crush once told me my spirit animal was a bird (what?! I could have sworn I was something more magical like a giraffe, or at the very least cute like a beluga whale!).

This was my response:

What is the species of bird,

Restless as the sea,

With colours that hide an inner nerd,

And imagination that runs free?

A bird on a quest to make others feel known,

While ultimately at peace, dancing alone.

Above all, searching for new sights to see,

That is the bird most like me.

While that relationship eventually fizzled, I’m happy with the poem it produced. I think it describes me—a multi-hyphenate, and not just because I have a regrettable last name…yes it’s pronounced “dick”—quite well. 🙂

Most days, I feel like I am human pollinator🧚‍♀️. On my wisest days, I am simply love💗.

How do I spend my time?

I spent 2025 writing Dark Places: A Memoir About Daring to Care (read the first chapter here).

It’s a father-daughter redemption story, about my attempt to solve the mystery behind my peculiar father’s years-long disappearance. My quest begins when I learn that he has decided to end his life in just one week. Dark Places is more than a memoir, it’s a model for finding hope in hardship, daring to care again, embracing the instructions left inside you, and coming to accept both complicated feelings and people.

Paid subscribers can:

❀ Listen to the audiobook (narrated by yours truly!)

❀ Read the full book online (if you prefer an e-book file, just reply to this email)

❀ Why I cringe to call this book a memoir

❀ Why I changed course on my original book

When I’m not writing, I’m playing with my toddler or helping mission-driven start-ups scale their impact.

As often as I possibly can, I do all of the above while immersed in nature🌳.

You can learn more about me and my various projects here.

What do I write about here?

Where to begin?!

I love to write about a wide range of topics from spending a year abroad with a toddler and my journey with cancer, to losing my second parent and the metamorphosis of my book about pollinators.

I can’t promise that my newsletter will be predictable (in its schedule or topic), but I can promise it will be refreshingly authentic, draw inspiration from nature, and widen your perspective.

In general, I like to explore why we do what we do and how our brains work (literally, and figuratively) to unlock insights that might help us feel a little more connected to nature, ourselves, and each other.

What’s in it for you?

My hope is that whatever frameworks and resources I share will help you find more meaning and satisfaction, without making you feel like you’re doing something wrong if you haven’t already made millions or found your dream job.

Ultimately, I’d love to convince you to prioritize fun in your life and to trust that everything else will fall into place if you do.