Objective

Prism publishes personal takes that challenge the wellness status quo. Owned and operated by Parallel, an investment office and production studio, the Prism newsletter — delivered every other week(ish) — covers mental, physical, and social health from a range of first person perspectives.

Prism reframes mental health, specifically, by moving away from optimization, quick fixes, and glossy inspiration, and towards vulnerable, human-first narratives. Their mission is to platform voices rarely heard in this context — such as caregivers, people navigating ADHD, those grappling with grief or body image, etc.

Strategy

Prism features contributors who aren’t your usual wellness suspects — meaning no therapists, gurus, or self-proclaimed experts. Instead, they are writers, artists, and thinkers sharing a mental health POV that is often messy, funny, and unexpected — but always deeply human.

 Sample essays include:

• Death by a thousand taco salads. – Reframing grief through the lens of family rituals.
• The first rule of Ozempic Is: you don’t talk about Ozempic. – Unpacking body image pressures and the complexities of contemporary weight-loss culture.
• My mom's in assisted living — but I'm the assistant – Exploring the toll of caregiving on mental health and the economy.
• I’m not addicted to Adderall…but I might be addicted to the ADHD label. – A candid account of ADHD and medication use.
• “Am I Queer?” Advice from a relationship chaos expert. – Tackling identity, ambition, and belonging.

Because these subjects are deeply personal, Prism’s editors work closely with each contributor, shepherding stories with care. The challenge is maintaining honesty while shaping essays into pieces with a clear takeaway for readers. Prism avoids both diary-like venting and over-sanitized advice, instead threading the needle between raw emotion and universal resonance.

Each contributor’s essay is paired with a reflective prompt or guidepost offered by the Prism team. For example, the ADHD essay concluded with tips for building a “dumb” computer for undistracted work; the caregiving piece included a glossary of terms to know when navigating choosing a caregiving facility. This extra step ensures that readers not only connect emotionally but receive useful and actionable resources. 

Prism’s regular publishing cadence and diversity of subject matter establishes an intimacy with readers, reinforcing mental health as an ongoing, collective dialogue rather than a one-off campaign.

Results

Prism measures success not only by metrics but by resonance. Essays regularly yield comments and emails from readers disclosing how the stories shifted their perspectives on mental health topics. High engagement demonstrates that readers aren’t just consuming content — they’re reevaluating their own experiences and forwarding the newsletters to others. 

Contributors themselves have reported feeling safe sharing vulnerable stories, with several noting these were the first times they had written publicly about mental health. By providing a platform and personalized support, Prism expands the range of voices contributing to wellness media, including everyone from an acclaimed chef to a network TV screenwriter.

Prism’s guiding principle remains true: if we get people to think just a little bit differently about a subject, we’ve done our job. For a new publisher in a crowded wellness landscape, Prism’s ability to shift the conversation has been the ultimate result. Quantitatively, Prism has a 42% open rate and nearly 10K subs within just a few months.