Story Matters

Life leans heavy these days, am I right? I am finding it hard to adequately hold the weight of all the stories and lives full of pain and suffering that we intersect here on the margins. Lament helps, as do walks in the park with my kids and swimming at the pool with the boys. Perhaps, although I'm not sure, the only cure is listening and learning and praying, and then a brave willingness to raise our voices and act in support of the marginalized and oppressed. 

That said, I believe that individual stories matter, because listening to people and who they are makes an actual difference. 

So here are some things I've been reading and listening to lately that have helped me to think and breathe and hope and come alongside. 

Reading (books)

• Sing, Unburied, Sing. Jesmyn Ward is one of my very favorite writers ever. She is an amazing writer and tells amazing stories, I've been waiting a long time for this one to come out. Also, if you haven't read her other stuff yet, you definitely should.
• Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Apparently my mom's feminism rubbed off on me more than I thought it did, also my amazing friend Ashlee gave me this book and I read it in less than an hour. 
• We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler. I love a good fiction book, and this one didn't disappoint.
• If anyone else reads the Louise Penny Inspector Gamache series (and if you don't, you should), then you will be excited as I was to discover the newest book (Glass Houses) in the series is out (hint: it was one of my favorites of the whole series, and that is saying a lot). 

Writing (my own words, elsewhere on the internet)
I've written two different essays for Off the Page about the boys and our neighborhood. You can read them here: A Wide Gate for Kids on the Margins and Systems of Court.

FYI, you should also follow my dear friend Sarah Quezada on Instagram, where she is is sharing stories of immigration every day in October (I may or may not be sharing about being a Canadian at some point). 

Lastly, I am sure I've already bugged all of you to death about this, but we are having our first-ever fundraising dinner at the brand NEW Monday Night Brewing Garage right in our neighborhood. If you're wondering how fancy it's going to be, let's just say we are serving pizza (from Antico!) and hot wings (from our beloved Ms Crumpy's), alongside 2 free beers. Tickets are only $25 which obviously is a no-brainer for a fun night out! We would be so honored and ecstatic to have you join us on November 6th. Learn more and get your tickets on our website.