I’ve been quieter here than I’ve wanted to be the past couple of months. Partly it’s due to something positive that has kept me busy—editing a collection of female-centered stories for my group, the Jewish Women’s Storytelling Collective. Our first book will come out in the fall of 2025, and I have a number of stories in the collection that I’m telling to live audiences at museums, community centers, and bookstores here in Portland.
All of this is exiting, but it is tempered by my fear for the future. As a feminist and mother of a disabled son and a transgender daughter, I can’t help but worry. Opening the newspaper every morning has become stressful, and I fear that things will get worse before they get better.
But I can’t let fear take over my life. I need to find a way to keep moving forward, and, hopefully, make a difference along the way. Now is the time to focus on self-care and being supportive of others.