Hi Reader

I don't usually write mid-week but my mind still feels busy. I still want to give a little more in these uneasy times. Like I said on Sunday, there is so much to say, yet it’s hard to know what to say that's actually helpful.

When that happens for me, I do two things:

1. I write it out. I just write and write and write. No one will see it so I don't need to censor myself. I just ramble, get all the thoughts down. Get angry on the page. Get hopeful on the page. Vomit the rage of living in a patriarchal, colonialist system onto the page. Trust me, it helps.
2. I learn. I learn because learning from really smart fucking people restores my faith in humanity. Books, blogs, videos, whatever. The education we all need is out there. Brilliant people are doing their best to share the kind of knowledge that will help us make sense of everything going on, and illuminate the path out of this mess (decolonize and smash the patriarchy, obvs).

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So I thought I'd share some awesome thought leaders that I look to, books that have helped me better understand and some beautiful ideas about how we create real, lasting positive change:

ANYTHING by Roxanne Gay - She's totally my feminist writer heroine.

The 7 Necessary Sins for Girls and Women by Mona Eltahawy - She's fucking fierce and advocates that we do what we gotta do to make the world right.

​They Called My a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri - I haven't read it yet but I hear beautiful, terrifying things about it. It's time we open our eyes.

​Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - A novel that depicts the reality of intergenerational trauma caused by the slave trade in the US and the how this trauma is ever-present in the systemic racism of America.

​When Sleeping Women Wake by Trista Hendren - An excerpt from the anthology, Women's Sovereignty and Body Autonomy Beyond Roe v. Wade

And if you haven't read it yet, or want to again, my story about Valentine's Day dinner with a sexist jerk is up on my blog. Do share with your friends.

It soothes my anxious heart to know writers are out there, doing their best to help us think broader, feel deeper and finally recognize the inequalities that are inherent to the current system. I'm so grateful for them, and I do hope that I contribute to that thought work too, in my own way.

I have a chunk of writing time coming up... On Sunday, my kiddos and I are off to Costa Rica for a few weeks, where my father has lived since I was 11 years old. It feels like an odd time to go off galivanting in another country, even one that feels like home, but I accept that complex feelings about everything has become the norm.

I don't plan to work while we're there but I do plan to write. Costa Rica has always been a place where I feel strong and confident, creative and inspired. Soaking up that vibe for a few weeks will nourish me, bringing more flow to my creativity, more words to the page. I'll be writing about writing, and about dating - just allowing myself to write what comes each day.

We do what we can. We write. We learn. We share. I would love for you to share with me the people you've been learning from lately, the ones who have been soothing your heart. Please reply to this email with names and links and all the good stuff. Maybe that will even lead to another email with awesome resources for everyone.

We'll find our way through, together.

Take care,

Parrish

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