Dear Rachel: Carrying Weight - August 12, 2025 - Ep 3

[hickoryhound]

https://thehickoryhound.blogspot.com/2025/08/dear-rachel-carrying-weight-august-12.html 

📝 SEO Summary: In this episode of Dear Rachel, three callers wrestle with the burden of civic responsibility in a town that’s not dying—but isn’t thriving either. A Young Returner wonders if saving the place is really their job. A Laid-Off Millworker recalls fighting for something already lost. And a Comfortable Resident insists everything’s fine. Rachel strips away guilt and offers clarity: caring is not the same as carrying. 

📌 Key Topics: Civic responsibility and burnout Returning home to a changing community Lessons from industrial job loss The gap between perception and reality Generational perspectives on decline Protecting personal well-being while staying engaged Small-town stagnation vs. collapse Knowing your limits in local activism 

🏷 Hashtags: #DearRachel #CarryingWeight #ShrinkingCenter #YoungReturner #LaidOffMillworker #ComfortableResident #PostIndustrialVoices #CivicResponsibility #SmallTownLife #KnowYourLimitsp. 

Episode 2 - Trust Breakdown - https://thehickoryhound.blogspot.com/2025/06/dear-rachel-trust-breakdown-june-20-2025.html 

Episode 1 - Falling Behind - https://thehickoryhound.blogspot.com/2025/06/dear-rachel-story-of-aspiring-creator.html