Leah Libresco Sargeant is a writer and community organizer whose work focuses on building supportive civic communities for families and caregivers. She blends reporting, theological reflection, and practical experiments in hospitality through books, essays, and the Other Feminisms discussion network she convenes on Substack.

Early writing and conversion (2009-2016)

Libresco Sargeant began her public writing with the “Unequally Yoked” blog, documenting ethical debates as an atheist engaged to a Catholic fiancé. Her 2012 conversion to Catholicism drew attention from outlets such as The Washington Post and CNN, positioning her as a commentator on faith, technology, and civic trust. She subsequently contributed to FiveThirtyEight, The American Conservative, and other publications, using data reporting and personal narrative to examine how community institutions shape American political life.

Books on prayer and communal living (2015-2018)

Her first book, Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers That Even I Can Offer (2015), traced the habits she adopted while learning Catholic prayer and connected them to broader civic virtues like persistence and solidarity. Libresco Sargeant followed it with Building the Benedict Option (2018), a field guide for small-group experiments in shared life, mutual aid, and neighborhood anchor institutions. The book distilled lessons from running prayer groups, hosting recurring community dinners, and organizing skills exchanges that help households sustain resilient social networks.

Other Feminisms newsletter and community labs (2019-present)

In 2019 Libresco Sargeant launched Other Feminisms, a Substack newsletter and discussion collective that centers women whose work includes unpaid caregiving or support for people with disabilities. She publishes reader surveys, policy explainers, and interviews with advocates working on childcare, disability access, and family leave. The project pairs online essays with local meetups and virtual salons where participants test practical interventions—from babysitting cooperatives to mutual-aid registries—and report outcomes back to the newsletter community.

Media collaborations and public speaking

Beyond her own newsletter, Libresco Sargeant writes essays for Plough Quarterly, Deseret News, and similar outlets that explore family policy innovations, ritual life, and the ethics of emerging technology. She is a frequent podcast guest and event speaker, briefing civic groups on how small-scale hospitality practices can rebuild trust and encourage civic participation. Her presentations often translate the experiments she pilots through Other Feminisms into replicable models for parishes, neighborhood associations, and workplace caregiving initiatives.