I am a researcher, writer, and caretaker. My work appears in places like Harper's Bazaar, The Guardian, BBC and NPR.
Pocket Observatory is where I follow Mary Oliver's instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.
Currently, I am paying attention while experiencing triple negative breast cancer.
Some Kind Words About My Work
Rebecca Jones, Professor of Sociology, Sexuality and Ageing at the Open University, UK
The thing I love about Meg Conley's work is the way she makes you see the world completely differently by connecting apparently unconnected things...I recently did my inaugural professorial lecture talking about 'queer joy' as the moments when you suddenly see things differently and [her] work is one of my best sources of queer joy through new connections.
Danny Funt, Columbia Journalism Review
Meg's pieces have covered the challenges of having ADHD as a mom, the history of embroidery, religious representations of vultures—a miscellany of unexpectedly compelling topics. Her writing brims with emotion, and she includes personal anecdotes, though her aim is to be more observant and analytical than confessional.
It’s incredible how Meg can always be funny, incisive, and eloquent, all at once. Actually, it’s maddening that she’s this good.
Anne Helen Petersen, Culture Study
Meg Conley is doing some of the smartest and most challenging writing on the intersection of women, home, money, and care. She is an exquisite writer, constantly surprising me with the turns and clarity of her prose.
Camille Andros, Author and Advocate
If you’ve ever wished you could have been a part of Tolkien’s Inklings or swirl a drink by the fire with Emerson and Alcott, Meg’s writing is pretty damn close.
