Women's Voices For Change

“Know, Heart” by Elisabeth Murawski

By Rebecca Foust

“Know, Heart” ends in a place of utter desolation and loss, with the heart so baffled by suffering that it cannot feel anything or even conceive of a future. All it can do is look blindly back into memory.

Emotional Health

The Power of Positive Words

By Editor @ Women's Voices

We can try to overcome the fact that so many of us are feeling down and divided and work up some good old "sisu" to get us through this.

Theater

Judith Kalaora: A Woman Making History

By Alexandra MacAaron

Judith Kalaora is dedicated to ensuring that the stories of some of history's most interesting women don't fall through the cracks.

Emotional Health

A Pandemic Self-Care Tool Kit

By Jane Moffett, LCSW-R, Ph.D., S.E.P

In this week’s post, 'A Pandemic Self-Care Tool Kit,' Dr. Jane Moffett expands on the ways we can care for ourselves and others, including how to cultivate peace of mind during the work day, prioritizing emotional self-care, and practices that can help grieving family members and friends.

Poetry

“有識: Have Knowledge” by Paisley Rekdal

By Amanda Moore

Paisley Rekdal’s “有識: Have Knowledge” moves the reader through questions posed by immigration officials to Chinese immigrants entering the United States during the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Emotional Health · Family & Friends

Are We Responsible for Our Children’s Problems?

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

“Parenting,” not a common word in our parents’ generation, now attracts a billion dollar industry of advice experts.

Film & Television

Beyoncé’s Love Letter to Her Son and Her People

By Alexandra MacAaron

A hero's journey. A celebration of African redemption. A spectacular ninety-minute music video. A glorious affirmation served up in a time of violence, hate, and social unrest. 'Black is King' is all this, and more.

Emotional Health

A Therapist’s Views on the Pandemic:
Trauma and Battle Fatigue

By Jane Moffett, LCSW-R, Ph.D., S.E.P

During the pandemic, there may be days when you find yourself overwhelmed and weary from bringing your full self to the people you care for. However, when we work through fatigue, and push down our own feelings in the service of helping, we turn down the volume on our internal life.

Poetry

“To Be Held” by Linda Hogan

By Rebecca Foust

“To Be Held” falls within the pastoral tradition of a poet wandering in nature and finding inspiration there. In it, the speaker encounters a tree in her desert landscape that then becomes a springboard for a larger reflection about humanity.

Emotional Health

When the Past Interferes with the Present

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

We fear old, buried feelings and fear their power. In this way, they are vampire-like in that the best way to defeat them is to expose them to the light.

Film & Television

Emmy Noms: Sure Bets, Surprises,
and a Three-Way Snub

By Alexandra MacAaron

Despite a fairly substantial snub, women and people of color were well represented in this year's honorees.

Emotional Health

A Therapist’s Views on the Pandemic

By Jane Moffett, LCSW-R, Ph.D., S.E.P

Dr. Jane Moffett addresses the impact of living in this extended time of uncertainty, understanding the effects of trauma, and the importance of knowing and examining how we respond to traumatic events.

Poetry

Poems by francine j. harris

By Amanda Moore

Rather than decode every reference in the poem, however, I’m eager to experience the musicality of it, to listen to the opening, and see how it squares with the poem’s first line: “The tension is in drag. the rug of hot winter rain. the droll swish tires.”

Emotional Health

Losing a Beloved Pet

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

When we lose a pet, we often feel as if we have lost our best friend, or even a part of ourselves.

Film & Television

Rosamund Pike Illuminates ‘Radioactive’

By Alexandra MacAaron

'Radioactive' does a nice job of humanizing a woman whom most of us know of, but few really know about: Marie Curie the first person to win two Nobel prizes.

Poetry

“Self Portrait con Valencia” by Lupita Eyde-Tucker

By Amanda Moore

“Self Portrait con Valencia” deftly charts the bilingual experience in addition to the social one, crafting a subtle metaphoric relationship between the elements of the periodic table and language.

Emotional Health

Understanding Addictions:
Self-Medication and Self-Harm

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Of the many hazards of lack of self-love, among the most serious, is behavior that harms you.

Film & Television

‘Relic’: The Demon is Dementia in this Sophisticated Horror Debut

By Alexandra MacAaron

'Relic' bridges the gap between fictional horror and the ultimate horror of real life, which is diminishment and death. There are some (very) scary moments, as well as scenes that will feel familiar to anyone who has watched a parent or grandparent age.

Poetry

Yolanda J. Franklin: “Climaxes & Joints”

By Amanda Moore

In this poem, the speaker moves via stream of consciousness, shifting back and forth between various characters, memories, and histories to create an expansive sense of various kinds of “climaxes” and “joints.”

Emotional Health

Learn to Tune in to Your Own Signals

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Learning to respect and appreciate yourself in an appropriate, measured, and compassionate way is an essential foundation of our ability to give to others.

Film & Television

Netflix Documentaries: Exposing the Monsters

By Alexandra MacAaron

'Athlete A' chronicling how 'The Indianapolis Star' broke the story of doctor Larry Nassar's abuse of hundreds of athletes and 'Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich' are available to stream on Netflix.

Poetry

Claudia Rankine:
“Some years there exists a wanting to escape…”

By Rebecca Foust

The language of 'Citizen' is condensed and pungent, but the poem is book-length, and instead of capturing a single moment, it captures the million moments of alienation and annihilation that constitute black contemporary experience in America.

Emotional Health

The Arc of Progress: The Good, Bad, and Deadly

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Living today under the threat of climate change, anticipating a possible self-inflicted collapse of our natural world, it does not surprise us to learn that the arc of progress has not always been good for us.

Books · Money & Careers

La’Wana Harris, A Woman Making A Difference

By Alexandra MacAaron

La'Wana Harris is a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategist. Her most recent book has been praised for its practical approach to recognizing unconscious bias and putting privilege and power to work for genuine inclusion and diversity.