Tag: trauma

Women Write Banned Books & What We Must Do Now

What happens six weeks after a First Amendment Activist and members of Amnesty International and the American Library Association have a conversation in the 80’s? What were they fighting for? And who is winning that war over 40 years later? The 80’s gave us Banned Books Week. They were fighting “to teach the importance of…
Read more...

September 27, 2024
The Power of the Pen Pal to Expand the World

When many of us were young there was nothing more magical than getting mail that was for you! The best was a letter or a card from a friend. To this day I enjoy the week of my birthday and Christmas because there are still a few beautiful people who will send a hand written…
Read more...

September 23, 2024
Iman: A Refugee Who Made the World Better!

Most people know her as a Supermodel and beloved wife of David Bowie. But how many know that she was a refugee, speaks five languages, and changed the world for many? As a victim of genital mutilation at the age of seven, a refugee at 16, and faced racial bias as model in the US…
Read more...

September 20, 2024
Winona Ryder Breaking Silence in a Tough World

As many fans wait for the 5th and final season of Stranger Things, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is smashing the box office. Winona Ryder is back in the spotlight, but she has never been silent. She impacted Generation X with important lessons about metal health and early adulthood with movies like Girl Interrupted and Reality Bites. This…
Read more...

September 13, 2024
Memento Mori and the Masque of the Red Death

2 days ago I had emergency surgery. I’ve had it before and I am going to have it again. It is a reminder that life is to be lived and pain is bittersweet. It is also a reminder of mortality. Since I was ten I have been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe. In grade…
Read more...

September 9, 2024
Music Will Change Your Life: Stranger Things

Season 1 of Stranger Things was the beginning of Gen X Watch. It presented a compelling thought. Some of our nostalgia and trauma are intertwined in a beautiful dance. In season one young Will Byers is missing. He is trapped in the Upside Down, a dark and mysterious realm coexisting with our own. It is…
Read more...

September 2, 2024
You Made August Matter For Strong Women!

This month was really a sifting of the wheat from the chaff. There were challenging articles and the readers took to the challenge. It is ever a reminder of how wonderful and powerful our audience is. This was a rare month that we did not have growth, but we missed that by less than 200…
Read more...

August 31, 2024
Stormy Daniels and Her Refusal to be Silenced

Does Stormy Daniels have anything in common with Maya Angelou, Cyndi Lauper, and Kathleen Hannah? Does she deserve to be more than a punchline in counterpunches? Is it time for Feminism to move beyond SWERFS? Can a sex worker be a victim of sexual assault? Absolutely! Other Fem Fridays we have written about were strippers…
Read more...

August 30, 2024
Dolly Parton And the Choices We Make

Can where we come from shape our views? Is the joke on us? Can our words show truth? Did the choices of others both deter and inspire a young writer? Dolly Parton embodies the best of the yeses to these questions with Country Class and kindness that enlightenment and education doesn’t always provide. This is…
Read more...

August 23, 2024
Jenny’s Feedback and Graceful Truth

Can well intentioned people show ableist behavior? Is it possible to give hard truth gracefully? Do we get better with age? Can we change an ending? According to a former model named Jenny, the answer is yes. Jenny is a Fem Friday we have written about twice. The first one was our Brooke Shields piece…
Read more...

August 16, 2024