Where I'm From #100!!!

​Hello Wonderful Friends! 
​
1. Where I'm From #100
Yesterday, we celebrated the 100th episode of Where I'm From (!!!) with my special guest, Cody Shelton. You may know him because he's my fantastic husband, TV producer and all around great guy.

Thank you to everyone who's been a part of this series, watched, commented and/or shared it. It's my privilege and joy to listen to these poems every week. Come join me! For real! Even if you're not on Instagram, we can record on Zoom, it's easy.
 
Since my last newsletter I've had these gold star guests join me, and yes, in my opinion, every guest is a gold star guest:
 
#89 Paul McGuigan
#90 Michelle Bowdler
#91 A.R. Farina
#92 Blake Byles
#93 Tammy Evans
#94 Roz Morris
#95 Sara Letourneau
#96 Elizabeth Marian Charles
#97 Katherine Anne Gilbert
#98 Natalie Serianni
#99 Brenan Yack
#100 Cody Shelton

​2. Loss of a Lifetime: Sibling Loss Anthology
 
As many of you know, my brother Michael died when I was ten years old. It shaped the course of my life though I didn't realize it, I was mostly surviving and trying to move on or move forward and find some semblance of peace. One of the many gifts my complicated relationship with the internet has given me is a community of others who've lost their siblings. Even though sibling loss happens, it is the sort of bereavement that receives little focus and you can see that in the lack of literature around it. Lynn Shattuck, brilliant writer and friend, has been working on an anthology about sibling loss for some time and I've joined as a co-editor. I'm looking forward to finding a home for this anthology and sharing it with all of you.

3. Fine Cut
 
It continues to be a blast connecting with people I adore and talking about media that's made an impact on us. Recent episodes of Fine Cut include:
9/L.L. Kirchner
10/A.R. Farina 
11/Meera Vijayann 
12/Liz Santoro
 
4. What I'm Reading
 
Wow, I've read some real bangers lately but in the contemplative sense of the word.

Thinning Blood: A Memoir of Family, Myth and Identity by Leah Meyers - I loved it. An incredible book that braids together seemingly disparate elements to form a cohesive and impactful whole. 

Blurb from Bookshop.Org "Leah Myers may be the last member of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe in her family line, due to her tribe's strict blood quantum laws. In this unflinching and intimate memoir, Myers excavates the stories of four generations of women in order to leave a record of her family." 
 
Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe - This book feels like sitting in on a soul-defining, private conversation. It changed the author and it changed me too.

Blurb from Bookshop.Org "A singular achievement, Ordinary Notes explores profound questions about loss and the shapes of Black life that emerge in the wake. In a series of 248 notes that gather meaning as we read them, Christina Sharpe skillfully weaves artifacts from the past--public ones alongside others that are poignantly personal--with present realities and possible futures, intricately constructing an immersive portrait of everyday Black existence." 
 
The Crying Book by Heather Christle - Yes, as a crier I am the target audience for this book, also it's so beautiful. 

Blurb from Bookshop.Org "Heather Christle has just lost a dear friend to suicide and now must reckon with her own depression and the birth of her first child. As she faces her grief and impending parenthood, she decides to research the act of crying: what it is and why people do it, even if they rarely talk about it."

​5. What I'm Watching - BARBIE
 
The joy of Barbie! (Do you see that Barbie townhouse?!? Dreams do come true!) Feeling it as a young girl and feeling it again now. Barbies were kind of my life when I was young. It was the toy I asked for every time someone asked me what I might like. And then they started asking, 
 
"What would you like other than a Barbie?"
 
Which would really tick me off. 
 
You asked me what I wanted. I told you. Some people would tease me (a lot) about my love of Barbie and so this movie, this wonderful, incredible, joyful, surprising, empowering, funny, PINK movie has felt validating and especially fun for me. 
 
And thank goodness Ria saw it and we found a time to talk about it for Femme on Film. You can listen to us chat about it HERE.
 
I hope you've seen Barbie or some of the press and felt validated or acknowledged. I'm grateful there's a movie that celebrates a toy that anchored my young life and talks about the patriarchy and how f***ing unbelievable it is that we all live with it and accept that it is normal. It's not.  

​Thank you for reading my newsletter. I love connecting with you, if you lived closer I'd hand delivery you some peaches from our trees.

Please let me know what you're reading, watching and thinking about this Summer.
 
Hugs, Alyson
 
*If you or anyone you know is interested in participating in Where I'm From, let me know!