July/August issue of Natural Life magazine???

[wennerk]

Has anyone received this issue yet?  Being that it's August 9, I'm a little concerned that I haven't received it yet. I already wrote to their circulation department in May to see when I was getting that issue.  I thought I'd post here first and see if they're just slow in mailing them out before I go bugging them again this time around.  I did get my May/June issue, albeit in late June.  So maybe this is just par for the course with them?  But, like I saw on other threads, I'm still missing the print version of Mothering magazine.  It was like losing a good friend when I no longer received it in my mailbox.  This one just isn't the same.

[Cynthia Mosher]

Moving this to Books, Music and Media...

[terrordactyl]

i haven't received any of them. and when i write to mothering they haven't replied. i'm pretty upset

[quantumleap]

I just recently got the July/August issue, so they could just be slow. However, no one is going to be getting any more issues of Natural Life unless you write to them and tell them what an awesome publication it is. Or, you can use this code they send you to choose to receive digital copies of one of a few of their other publications instead. If you don't respond by either telling them they rock or choosing a digital publication, your subscription will just be cancelled entirely. They reasoning was that Natural Life has "received literally thousands of complaints from former Mothering magazine subscribers". I doubt if the bulk of the complaints were about Natural Life, and suspect they were primarily simply misdirected anger over the whole (sudden) demise of Mothering. 

If you've already contacted them, maybe you should wait a little longer and then try again, if only because if you don't, you will lose your sub entirely. It is my impression that Mothering has washed it's hands of everything related to the magazine, and you will have to deal entirely with Natural Life to resolve any issues.

Hope you manage to sort out something! 

[wennerk]

Ok, so write to the company again to ask where subscription is.  Got it.  Thanks for the replies.  Yeah, I was very mad at Mothering for the way they ended their publication, but I never directed it at Natural Life.  They were trying to do us a favor.  No, it's not the best magazine in the world, but it is something to hold in my hands that's not electronic and fits with the way I'm trying to live my life.  (Of course, I won't tell the editors of NL that it's just an okay publication...)

[Nazsmum]

How sad is all of this????

[elanorh]

Selkat, did they tell you that?

I just sent a message off to them asking if there'd been a mistake, since I have yet to receive my July/August issue.  If they're really doing that (just ignoring the Mothering subscriptions unless we contact them), that's going to give them a really bad rep in terms of word-of-mouth.  It's not their fault that this happened, and while they're not the magazine I had just sent a 3-year renewal off to -- they are better than the alternatives out there.  It's not like our subscriptions were sold to "Parenting." 

 

[quantumleap]

My issue just came wrapped with the explanation and the code on the envelope. I assumed everyone got the same envelope, only with an individual code. It feels pretty low for Natural Life to do this. I understand they're angry that people are angry with them, but it's still ridiculous. I won't be recommending their publication to anyone. 

[wennerk]

I did finally get my issue.  It arrived somewhere around the 20th of August.  However, mine had no code on it like Selkat refers to.  Instead I had a "Last issue" notice stamped across the envelope.  My mom had renewed a Mothering subscription for me, which expired this month.  *sigh*  I like Natural Life and the fact that it is reader-supported, but $39 is a bit steep for me to continue at the moment (or ask my mom to do for me).  Are there any other good substitutes out there?  I've heard of Pathways and Kiwi, but haven't really read those.  I'd be interested in suggestions of a good, natural-living/parenting magazine. 

[Turquesa]

I hope this helps! 

http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/mm/index.htm

The never even told me.  I just learned about it stumbling on this thread. 

[kdaisy]

I had forgotten to expect that magazine until this thread.  What a load of @#%.  Now I get absolutely nothing for that 2 year renewal.

I will never give Mothering another dime.

I agree it is like losing a best friend, but even more like your best friend betrayed you and then dumped you. 

[desertrose]

Hey now, first off, Natural Life is doing all of this out of their own pocket. 

Second, it's a pretty SWEET deal.  You have 3 choices of magazines to receive via digital copy AND you get all the back issues.   I switched my subscription to Life Learning  (unschooling mag)  and I'm quite enjoying it and it makes up for the fact that I'd only received 2 issues of Natural Life this year! Now I have access to 10 years of issues.  AND it costs them less money, and saves trees - win-win. You can print them out yourself and it looks really pretty just the same. No ads, so there's not a lot of pages to print especially if you print double-sided.

I'm much happier with the unschooling mag since that's exactly where I'm at right now.

I'm thankful.         :)

Oh, and it's a great deal even if you pay for it - I think it was $20 for a digital subscription and access to all backcopies.

[quantumleap]

Originally Posted by desertrose 

Hey now, first off, Natural Life is doing all of this out of their own pocket. 

Is this really true?! 'Cause that seems insane. I'm not saying it isn't true, it's just a little baffling to me! Are they just counting on the increased numbers to sell more advertising? Counting on people renewing their subs after their Mothering sub runs out? 

[desertrose]

Yes! It really is true! I know, I was shocked myself. I think on one hand they wanted to do a good deed, but certainly in hopes that it would bring in more business in the future, I'm sure.  And being that some, or many people have been pretty ungrateful for it, you can see why the magazine would not want to waste their money on them! Hence, only wanting to send it to people that appreciate it. Believe me, I'm upset about the mothering incident just like everyone else, but Natural Life Magazine is not the bad guy at all. I think we all need to say thank you to them.

Here's a quote from the f.a.q. on their website - ( http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/Mothering/Frequently_Asked_Questions.htm )

"Q: Why am I receiving Natural Life Magazine instead of Mothering?
A: Mothering magazine ceased publication with its March/April 2011 issue. Mothering's publisher/editor Peggy O'Mara made that announcement on February 15, 2011. As a courtesy, and at Peggy's request, we agreed to offer Natural Life Magazine to Mothering's former subscribers on a complimentary basis, at our cost, beginning with Natural Life's May/June 2011 issue and ending with the expiry date provided to us by Mothering. (We did not receive any money for your subscription from Mothering.)"

[wennerk]

Originally Posted by desertrose 

Oh, and it's a great deal even if you pay for it - I think it was $20 for a digital subscription and access to all backcopies.

While I can agree with you on it being a great deal for those magazines digitally...it is ONLY a great deal if you read magazines that way.  I, however, do not.  I still haven't touched my last two issues of Mothering that sit in an e-mail folder.  I can't stand sitting at my computer (and don't have any other device on which to do so) and reading a magazine.  Call me old-fashioned, but I like holding the magazine in my hands.  Plus, like you said, you could print it out, but I also do not like the thought of spending all that money or ink on printing it myself.  So, that leaves me searching for another magazine to subscribe to.  I'm still open to suggestions of decent natural-minded printed magazine subscriptions.

[desertrose]

I totally understand - I can't read large amounts off of the computer either.

What about Mother Earth News? Probably not much parenting stuff there though... I'll keep my eye out and let you know if I find anything. :)

[wennerk]

I'll check into them.  Thanks desertrose!