Who is Merlot?
Hi, I’m Merlot Mary Fogarty.
I’m a 2024 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where I studied theology, political science, and constitutional studies. I’m a Texas girl at heart, a Virginia girl for now, and currently a part-time law student at The Catholic University of America.
Alongside school, I’ve thrown myself into work I care about deeply: Catholic advocacy, women’s health policy (especially Restorative Reproductive Medicine), and the kind of cultural commentary that pushes back against the noise of our age. Much of what I write here is shaped by the experiences I’ve had navigating a world where being a more traditional conservative woman — while also being ambitious and driven, while also just wanting to learn how to live a quiet life and build a family — all seem to be crashing together at once.
Life is full in this season — I’m engaged (getting married in the spring 💍), walking through some health challenges (you’ll hear plenty about endometriosis and PCOS here), and learning more each day about preparing for my first vocation as a wife and, God willing, motherhood.
This Substack is where I bring all those threads together: faith, law, culture, femininity, health, and the ordinary beauty of life. Thank you for being here and for letting me share these letters with you.
Why subscribe?
The internet is noisy — quick takes, endless scrolling, and comment sections that leave you more drained than inspired. Letters from Merlot is meant to be the opposite. Here you’ll find:
Weekly Notes — personal reflections on faith, culture, law, health, and everyday life.
Practical Favorites — recipes I’m loving, products I actually use, and seasonal finds.
Living the Liturgical Year — thoughts on feast days, holy days, and how to bring tradition into daily life.
Honest Conversation — not just words thrown into the void, but letters meant to be helpful, hopeful, and rooted in truth.
Subscribe to receive Letters from Merlot in your inbox each week — thoughtful, slower, more intentional words you can sit with and return to, rather than just scroll past.
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