Solidarity
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Hey there!
I’m reading audiobooks and writing poems lately, two formats I’ve eschewed in the past. With a toddler, I find more opportunities to listen to a story than long stretches to sit and read.
As for the poems, I have this newsletter to blame. Once I started writing with a theme in mind, I’d often get more than one idea per theme. But sometimes the subsequent idea was a snapshot, or a feeling. I didn’t realize they were poems until I started writing them. Poetry has always felt daunting to me, though I delight in precise language, imagery, and metaphor, all of which shine in poetry. (Writing more words is the easiest way to hide mediocre writing.)
Every word counts in a poem, and it’s a good reminder: it all counts. Reading Moo, Baa, La, La, La for the sixth straight time, ignoring your inner critic’s squawking, taking the stairs, answering that phone call you really wished was a text.
I don’t have to know you or how you spend your days to know that what you’re doing counts, and that you probably wonder if it does sometimes. Here’s a virtual fist bump of solidarity, wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing: it counts. I’m over here listening to Tom Hanks read me an audiobook, creaking across wood floors, trying not to overthink the future.
PS. No podcast episode for this issue. :)
In this issue, you’ll find a poem dedicated to new moms, followed by a collection of solidarity, and a closing benediction.
The Dearly Beloved is the most beautiful, quiet, affecting novel. If I had to put its theme in a word, it’s solidarity.
She Said is the story of how Jodi Kantor and Meghan Twohey broke the story of Harvey Weinstein’s dark history of sexual harassment and assault that ignited the #MeToo movement. I was stunned by the layers of protection he and others like him had, from enablers to nondisclosure agreements to money.
A small fraction of the women affected had to risk so much for this story to ever see the light of day, and I’m so glad they did. The end of the acknowledgments hits home the lasting impact I hope their work has (and makes me tear up):
“To our daughters, and to yours: May you know respect and dignity always, in the workplace and beyond.”
How a True-Crime Podcast Became a Mental Health Support Group
I’m an avid podcast listener but have never ventured beyond Serial into true crime. This article offers some insight into why true crime is so popular amongst women.
“…the online community becomes what Bonn calls a “sisterhood” of like-minded fans who relate to one another’s fear of being killed, as well as the universal interest in gaping at the worst of humanity.”
After losing her husband, Nora McInerny started a podcast, a nonprofit, and an online support community (cheekily named The Hot Young Widows Club) to help people cope with grief and loss. I loved her Ted Talk about not moving on, but moving forward.
(Also: I feel like that little chime at the beginning of Ted Talks is working hard to make us feel enlightened, and smug about how enlightened we are. I can’t watch too many or I get high on the fumes of self satisfaction.)
Some last links worth a click:
For those of us out here responsible for feeding people who want “four very specific Oreos” for dinner, #solidarity.
May we link arms and sync our steps—not because we love each other perfectly, but because we are united in finding our way, together.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on anything this issue calls to mind for you. Simply respond to this email to let me know.
Gratefully, Jacey
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