Welcome. I’m delighted that you are here!
The Salty Crone is a space to write through the hard stuff for a dose of strength, beauty, meaning, or a belly laugh — when all seems buried or hard to find — for those aha moments when the mystery bursts through — when an avalanche of feelings emerge — when love finds you beneath the rubble and wears your face.
It’s where we talk about life before and after loss, abuse, addiction, cults, helicopters, hijacks, recovery, motherhood, dirty laundry, side doors, holes, wholeness, and how writing the hard washes us clean — to be seen and held exactly as we are — human.
It is a way for me to draw close to you as a reader — to encourage you to crawl out from under the hard with a permission slip to feel all of it, unpack sorrows, whisper or shout to no one in particular ‘I Love You,’ and do whatever you want — gracefully or disgracefully — you choose.
The Salty Crone is about possibilities to unplug, and deepen through dreams, play, plants, and rest — to befriend, reclaim, and integrate the unique and precious parts of who you are — and savor the exquisite moments of Being Real.
As beautifully portrayed in The Velveteen Rabbit.
Why Subscribe?
I want to touch those parts of you that are least seen, least healed, least celebrated, and are longing — to connect — to belong and make meaning of the grit and grace — to live with new eyes.
As Anais Nin writes, we see things not as they are, but as we are.
You will receive one post on the weekend.
Why Join Me on Substack?
Substack is an economic engine for culture with multiple benefits for writers, readers, and creators. For me, it is a community of kindness, depth, generosity, and connection — together we can explore living a deep life without being at the mercy of the algorithm. It is a more personal — more sustainable space, unlike any other platform.
Subscribers have access to
My passion for writing as a path of self-discovery, learning, healing, and empowerment.
Life tips for creative self-care, to feel and integrate your exquisite humanness — Realness.
Stories from the spirits of the plants, dreams, and the hidden language of the soul.
Curated things that fill us with joy: plant teachers, dogs, remedies, books, songs, films, jokes, unexpected finds, and who knows what.
Opportunities to comment, share, and engage with other readers.
Skip over what doesn’t nourish your interest — you come and go as you like.
Paid subscribers receive all of my weekly content plus (all not live yet)
A free E-book download of Edge of Grace, Fierce Awakenings to Love, 2nd edition with a new foreword by New York Times Best Selling Author Sil Read (formerly Reynolds).
Select video meditations and guidance to nourish your inner life.
Resources that support you to live beyond confinement or belief systems with tender feminine guidance; herbal astrology, or open chats that might include: writing prompts, guests, and who knows what...
Share your heart with Q&As, community conversations, and occasional interviews with other creative folks I admire.
My gratitude — an ocean full — because being a paid subscriber means you’re fully in and are directly supporting me, my work, and my family.
Unsolicited Kindness from Readers fill me with Juice to Write
It is impossible to stop or even pause while reading. Once you start, you're on a ride you can't possibly hop off. Just terrific, scary, bewildering and powerful. A reader has absolute confidence that you know what you're talking about, and there's more to come.
You learn from everything, you know how to write the hardest stuff and live a sometimes heartbreaking life. You are who you are, generous, intuitive and kind with so much to offer. I totally believe in you, Prajna.
~Abigail Thomas, Author of eleven books and the Substack: What Comes Next.
With self-honesty and tenderness, Prajna reshapes deep pain, and uses it as a catalyst for our human evolution.”
~Jac O'Keeffe, Cofounder Association for Spirtual Integrity, Author of Born to Be Free and How to Be a Spiritual Rebel.
Who is Prajna O’Hara aka The Salty Crone?
Last year at age 66, I had a mid-life creative breakthrough. I joined an all-women's council on an Exquisite Tenderness retreat. They quickly named me The Salty Crone.
I thought what the F**K? I didn’t come here to be insulted!
Wait, maybe it’s a compliment, even an honor.
Historically, ‘crone’ held ugly connotations, suggesting a withered, grumpy dispensable old woman with a long crooked nose.
In actuality, ‘crone’ is a rite of passage — a reclamation for older women to proudly celebrate their wrinkles, jovial generous hearts, undying vigor, hard-won wisdom — and their candid badassness or ‘saltiness.’
This led me to write Saging with Audacity, Vim, and Vigor — Wisdom in Every Wrinkle. Want to read it? It’s here. A fun essay about Reclaiming the Crone, Becoming the Salty Crone, Meeting Nana Crone, and others...
I have given myself full permission to age gracefully or disgracefully — our midlife and post-menopausal years flood us with opportunities to define ourselves not by activities or productivity — but by our wise becoming. I offer you the same.
I am a seasoned Hakomi trauma therapist, transformational retreat facilitator, dream guide, grateful mama, and Tobacquera — a medicine woman trained in two Indigenous health care systems who uses the spirits of plants to cleanse and cure. I empower you to inhabit your body, heart, and soul with wonder and meaning.
I’m the voice behind the published memoir, Edge of Grace, Fierce Awakenings to Love, which sold over 7,000 copies on its first launch and went viral on Conscious TV and Buddha at the Gas Pump (35K+ views). The second edition is now available to warm you with tenderness, tears, cheers, courage, and laughter.
I’m an award-winning grant writer who built a development school to include children with disabilities; and a retired certified yoga teacher for women in prison, tech nerds in Silicon Valley, health junkies at Kripalu, and a variety of humans in private practice. I wrote liturgical dramas while completing my master’s in Transpersonal and Jungian Psychology at the Boston University School of Theology. I’m a recovering addict of sorts with too many shinanigans to mention.
I have one of the most important jobs in the world — Mama.
I consider motherhood my dharma and crowning achievement, like dogs, plants, and people, I am better because of them.
If you like, watch this 8-minute documentary about our early days.
I’m in my 29th year of growing my mama heart muscles through the ins/outs & ups/downs of single parenting. My three daughters will not leave the family nest anytime soon. They live with me and Abby’s service dog, Woodzie, who came to us from Guide Dogs for the Blind.
My twins can’t live independently yet and require ongoing support from nurses or assistants. My oldest completed graduate school at Smith College and has returned to us. She adores us and our unboxed ‘not normal’ lifestyle. It’s mutual!
My daughters are my reason for writing the hard stuff and sharing the strength and beauty that emerges. Abby inspired my first post on Substack. You can read it here.
I welcome you to travel with me on my writing journey with comments, shares, and inviting friends.
Thank you for reading and receiving your dose of The Salty Crone.
With love,
Prajna O’Hara, PrajnaOhara.com
I want to hear from you in the comments. I always respond.
To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.
Prajna, Your work is an impeccable, trustworthy, profound space of healing and love! From the bottom of my furry heart—I love you.
~Cinnabar Medicine Bear (Shiela)
