Vol. 45: Books & bad days

Author

Allison Punch
July 05, 2022

I’m not going to lie to you all, I had kind of a shitty weekend! A canceled flight got me home 24 hours later from a cross country work trip than expected, then our sweet dog Max was sick. My general take on Max is “he’s a dog - he’ll be fine!” but he had persistent stomach issues that started to scare me. It ended up with us taking him to the emergency vet just to make sure everything is okay - which it is. He’ll be okay, but what was originally going to be a relaxing long weekend turned into hyper vigilance & anxiety.

I used to be team No Bad Days and believed in a life where “every day is the best day of my life.” While I’m still committed to seeing the good in every day, sometimes it can be very validating to take a step back and say to myself: “I’m having a shitty day.”

It’s also only fitting that the long weekend for Fourth of July was such a struggle, given the lack of Patriotism I feel and the deep fear for so many marginalized communities in the US (and truly, worldwide). I’m at a loss to speak of how horrific the past couple weeks of SCOTUS decisions have been, only to say that if you are a person with a uterus, someone who is Black, Indigenous, a person of color, queer, trans, and/or someone who is in deep community with those affected by SCOTUS decisions, please know that I’m standing with you even as I’m battling grief, fear, anxiety and struggling to find what feels like the “right” “productive” “action.” If you're feeling that these decisions don't impact you, I urge you to consider your community, relationships and privilege.

And if you’re a white woman who only recently started questioning your “independence” and rights in this country, I would love to be in conversation & community with you, too, to discuss how we can decouple ourselves from white supremacy that’s so inherent in the attacks on reproductive rights in the US. The overturning of Roe v. Wade, while horrific, is not the first attack on reproductive justice.

Our little patient

Community Care

If you’re a person with means, please consider giving $5 - 7 to one of the organizations below as compensation for this free newsletter!

Like many LGBTQ families, I’ve started to do research into how to ensure my legal ducks are in a row in case Obergefell v Hodges gets overturned and I came across FreeState Justice which provides free legal services to low income LGBTQ people in my state of Maryland. If you’re someone in need, please consider reaching out (and let me know how it goes, since I’ve never worked with them!). And if you’re someone who would like to support low income queer Marylanders get help with legal name change or second parent adoption, please donate!

One of my favorite ways to give when I’m overwhelmed by the problems of the world is through a grantmaker that I trust, like Trans Justice Funding Project or The Emergent Fund, which provides rapid response funding for BIPOC-led movement building. 

Books, books, books

Recent reads:

  • I listened to Recitatif, a short story by Toni Morrison, on audiobook and absolutely loved it. It was recently published as a standalone featuring a foreword by Zadie Smith. If you listen to the audio, Zadie Smith reads her own forward, the story is narrated by Banhi Turpin, and it’s less than two hours. 

  • I also listened to Yerba Buena by Nina Lacour on audio and it was my favorite audiobook of the year so far. I’ve never read Nina Lacour’s YA, and this is her first adult novel, a star-crossed lovers story of two women over the years in California. It was moody, emotional, compelling & touching, I LOVED IT! It was great on audio but if audio is not your thing, still recommend you check it out! Content warning: addiction, death of a grandparent & a teen

Currently reading: 

  • My friend Ellen picked up Ross Gay’s forthcoming essay collection for me at ALA and I LOVE it. Thank you, Ellen! If you haven’t heard me rave about Book of Delights yet - that book is my happy place. In Inciting Joy, Gay dives deep into different aspects of finding & inciting joy in every day life. I love getting to see more about his family & his community. This book has been a small glimmer of hope & brightness in a very bleak time. Preorder here - it comes out in October!

  • I’m so close to finishing my reread of Song of Solomon. So. Close!

TBR list:

I know that books alone won’t save us, but in times like these, I'm drawn to look to history to better understand how we got to our current socio-political climate and how we can continue to build a more just future. Here are some books I have on my shelves that I hope to read soon. If you’ve read any of these, let me know which to prioritize!

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