What’s a ‘Dénouement’ anyway?
Dr. Dénouement is a name that combines my PhD (earned at a real brick and mortar top state uni, dissertation and all—side eye to all the “apostles and prophets” buying degrees from diploma mills.
Having taught English for much of my academic career, even as a middle school teacher, I would teach dénouement when I taught elements of plot. I might note that I also took French for two years in college, and learned French (along with Arabic and English in Kindergarten in my private school in East Jerusalem), so I was partial to pretty sounding French words.
Pronounced “Day-new-mah”—more formally, “(pronounced /deɪnuːˈmɑ̃ː/, /deɪnuːˈmɒn/, or UK /deɪˈnuːmɑ̃ː/; French: [denuˈmɑ̃])— it means, untying the knot at the close of a story.
I chose this name because it reflects the purpose I have for this Substack. Many people I know are “deconstructing,” “detangling,” or merely questioning which parts of their faith are real in light of the myriad lies they have been told. I make no claims to hold the answers, but I do claim to be decent at unraveling complexities, legalese, rhetorical games, and the rest of the twisted tactics employed by those who seem bent on maintaining control, even as they spent years teaching others to surrender control (to Jesus, of course).
I’ve been a writer for most of my life. I wrote my first creative piece in a park at age 12; it was bad. I was in pain, so I wrote. Over the years, I improved. I have been paid to write, mostly as a journalist, including as a “stringer” for the Los Angeles Times in college, which was really terrific. I’ve written for local newspapers and online news sites. I have also written for peer-reviewed journals as an academic, of course.
I do not use AI. I do not use ghostwriters (and I do not accept ghostwriting jobs, which are different from editing or writing teacher jobs). Ghostwriting in the church is its own problem. I work hard to research and write. I went to school for this. One of my grad professors in English used to say—annoyingly at the time—“it’s hard because it’s hard.” She was correct.
Although I have taught (and do teach) English, communication (including speech and debate at the secondary level), research inquiry and methods, and even psychology, my heart has a special place for journalism. I am still certified in journalism (and English), and miss old-school “truth and accountability” reporting.
This Substack does not purport to be a news outlet. I have bias, obviously. It is primarily analysis and opinion. Contrary to what some think, however, even news analysis and opinion pieces must be rooted in fact and based in truth.
Thank you for reading!
How you can help get the word out
I try to make this free for people to receive by email, and leave a few weeks of back posts free, as well. Additionally, I have removed paywalls on key posts that mauy be vital for people to obtain background. If you would be so kind as to LIKE, SHARE, and/or RESTACK my posts, this helps me gain traction and bring in subscribers even if you are unable to be a paid subscriber. I set my pricing at the lowest amount Substack allowed me to do (I tried to set it lower). I am most grateful to those who have been able and willing to support this project. I work hard on it, and I do love it.
Click the link to see subscription options (note that I recently received notice my processing fees will be increasing—as did you if you have anything that receives payments through Stripe, Substack’s processor—This is not immediate, and I am not planning any changes yet.)
Long-form writing, reading—and listening
Get the Substack app if it’s easier for you to listen to long form writing. This isn’t Instagram or X. Substackers for the most part are here for long form feature writing or journalism. Some of my subscribers don’t like to read a lot, or simply don’t have time; however, they have shared that the Substack app is good for it’s “Play this” button, and reads the post aloud to them.
I have considered a podcast. I have a “podcast voice,” and Substack offers the technology via the platform, but I’m not at that point. Currently, I spent a minimum of 10, and sometimes up to 30 or even 40 hours in a week when I am off my day job, working on research and writing. Perhaps that will be an area I take up when there are fewer rocks to be uncovered.
Join the crew
Participate in the comments section, or support this work with a subscription—again, even just a like or a social media share helps drive these algorithms higher. All this is a blessing and a curse at the same time! But I am grateful we have a way to expose darkness, and honor light.
To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.
