Reading in Hudson, NY on Saturday, May 12th

Hi there, special friend!

Do you love boxed wine? Will you be in Hudson, New York this Saturday? Oh, wonderful. Come find me at the Hudson Loft Reading Series hosted by Chloe Caldwell and located at the Hudson Loft on N. 4th and Warren St. 

I'm honored to be reading alongside...

JILLIAN LAUREN, author of the novel, PRETTY, and of the New York Times bestselling memoir, SOME GIRLS: My Life in a Harem. 

JASON DIAMOND, founder of Vol. 1 Brooklyn, and the New York Deputy Editor of Flavorpill. His writing has been published by The New York Times, The Paris Review, Vice, NPR.org, the A.V. Club, Tablet, The Rumpus, Thought Catalog, and the Chicago Tribune.  

HALLIE GOODMAN, whose work has appeared in Paper Magazine, Self Magazine, Redbook Magazine, The Knot Magazine, Chronogram, Women's Health and countless newspapers including the world renowned, Register Star.  

COURTNEY MAUM, a humor columnist for Electric Literature and writer for [adult swim], whose work has recently appeared online in Tin House, Blip, Bomb Magazine, The Rumpus, and others.  

JOSEPH RIIPPI, whose books include A Cloth House (Housefire Publishing, 2012) and treesisters (Greying Ghost Press, 2012). He is also the author of the story collection The Orange Suitcase (Ampersand Books, 2011) and novel Do Something! Do Something! Do Something! (Ampersand Books, 2009).  

ROBB TODD, author of the collection Steal Me for Your Stories. 

See you there!

Reading at KGB Bar on Thursday, September 1st

  

 I'll read something sassy from the manuscript. 

Columbia Faculty Selects series

at KGB Bar

85 East 4th Street, NYC 

Thursday, September 1st

7 p.m.

Also featured: poet Cherry Pickman and fictionist Stephanie Arndt

you obviously know what i'm talking about

and i obviously stole that heading from Miranda July, who might also know what i'm talking about, but she hasn't been in touch. (i love you, Miranda.)

i read so many lovely notes in response to my Times story that i thought i would share excerpts from a few of my favorites.

"You're actually the first person I've spoken with who also went through the experience... I've spent a truly impressive amount of time crying, wondering what could have been, and dealing with a feeling of endless general malaise." -NYC

keep those tissues handy, girl, and let it all out. 

"Can't believe the mofo named her JADE." - Colorado

me neither! but it's a beautiful name.

"I feel your pain. I've never had an abortion, so I don't know what that experience would be like, but I can tell you, giving up your baby for adoption is living hell...I still live it every day." - U.S.A.

i had no idea that giving up a baby for adoption would yield similar feelings to mine. isn't it rad that we can relate, even though our pregnancies had different outcomes?

"This has been the experience of so many of my friends, but I have never had an abortion & find it hard to relate to them at times. Reading this, I can see now that... It doesnt have to be a shared experience between us to connect with them & allow them to share with me where they are with it." -Texas

the power of listening!

"I conceived at the age of 38. A friend of mine said that the time was right and I was deserving, and that I was ready. To this day, I am not sure I was ready. When I learned of my pregnancy, I grappled with the very same questions that you did...and so did the father of the baby. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to work through these questions and concerns with a caring physician and a partner who was open minded. I am equally grateful that the choice to terminate a pregnancy is still available and that we have qualified medical care for this procedure. I took a chance, and the end result has been a blessing for both of us. Yet, this was our individual choice, individual decision, and ultimately a collective decision made on the behalf of another...Where I had time, age, some financial footing and a committed partner on my side, you had none of these." - Earth

thanks for your thoughtful note. glad the decision-making process resonated. your baby's lucky to have such a loving mama!

keep the notes coming. i'll write back. ♥ 

pro-voice fist-bump

More GRITtv

Natalia and Aspen bring the future of abortion dialogue to Laura Flanders' GRITtv. Aspen says, "When we're talking about women who have had abortions, we're talking about women who are pro-choice, and women who are pro-life, and women who are neither, and women who are both."