An Investigation, a Newsletter, and the Evolution of This Space

On Two Can Be True, reporting, reflection, and rebuilding can exist in the same place.

This newsletter is produced independently. If you want to support this work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a one-time contribution. Your support helps keep this reporting and writing going.

Late Sunday night, something a little unexpected landed in your inbox.

Instead of one of my usual essays — the reflective pieces about journalism, motherhood, identity, or rebuilding after a layoff — some of you opened your email to find a full investigative story about immigration detention.

A rolling investigation.

If it felt a little random, you’re not alone. A few readers reached out asking what was going on.

For most of my career, investigative reporting like that lived inside a newsroom. Accountability reporting has long been central to my work as a journalist, including coverage of immigration enforcement and the criminal justice system.

Stories went through editors, lawyers, and production teams before appearing under the banner of a major media outlet.

This time, it appeared here.

On Two Can Be True.

And I hope you’ll take a moment to read it.

This space has largely been home to something different so far: reflections on the state of journalism, an open notebook, insights from almost 20 years in newsrooms, frameworks for leadership, and narrative storytelling through the lens of my own life — often as a parent navigating work, identity, and purpose.

But the reason I named this publication Two Can Be True is because life rarely fits into a single lane.

You don’t have to be just one thing: two things can be true at the same time.

I am an investigative journalist.

I am also a narrative storyteller.

I’m a wife, mother of two, an entrepreneur.

An educator, coach, editor.

A strategist and consultant. A builder.

I’m a person of faith who loves fitness and believes deeply in the power of community.

In other words, I’m human.

I’m not reporting full time right now (although for this story it certainly feels that way, just without the pay. Here’s how you can help fill that gap).

But I am still a storyteller. And when a story finds me — or when I feel a calling to pursue it — there’s a good chance it will show up here.

That’s the freedom of this space.

And it’s also the promise.

Alongside occasional reporting, I’m working on several projects that will unfold here over the coming months.

One of them is a series called Life After Layoff, which explores what happens after journalists leave newsrooms. It’s about identity, reinvention, financial survival, and the quiet rebuilding that happens after the headlines fade.

Later this month, I’ll also be heading to Chicago as part of the ONA Women’s Leadership Accelerator, a program that brings together some of the most promising women leaders in media to build the next generation of newsroom leadership.

And I was recently selected for Project C’s Creator Cohort, a program designed to help journalists build sustainable, independent media businesses in the creator economy.

In many ways, this publication sits at the center of all of it.

Reporting.
Reflection.
Rebuilding.

Two can be true.

I’d love to hear from you.

Did the investigative piece surprise you? What kinds of stories or content do you hope to see here? What questions about journalism, leadership, or rebuilding a career would you like explored in future pieces?

You can always reply directly to these emails — I read them.

And if you haven’t yet, I hope you’ll take a moment to read (and share) the investigation I published Sunday night.

Thank you for being here and building this space with me.

— Monique

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Two Can Be True is published by The Madan Creative Group LLC.