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  Today on the blog, we're featuring a guest post by author @cylapanin, whose debut novel is called ‘Stalking Shadows’ which is a haunting gothic retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” exploring sibling loyalty as a young woman discovers the truth behind her sister’s curse. In her post, Cyla opens up about how writing became a way of helping her heal from and deal with parts of her own childhood trauma, some of which she wove into the characters in her book. "Do we ever get over trauma? I don’t think so. In my experience, trauma lives somewhere deep under the skin and bursts forth at the most inopportune times, like a bad rash. I’m not a big talker when it comes to deep emotions or revealing trauma. Part of the reason for that, I now understand, was an unhealthy dose of gaslighting when I was younger. For me, I knew I wanted to write about it." Cyla also talks about the responsibility she felt toward young readers when writing her novel: "I write for young adults, who may feel like they alone are experiencing trauma, and there’s a responsibility to that. I wanted my books to be a tiny rock for some—something to hold onto. And did I process my own trauma through writing my novel? Maybe pieces of it. Maybe I understand myself a little better. I’ve learned nothing can carve that trauma out of my soul, but I’m a little more at peace now." To learn more about Cyla's feminist retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast story 'Stalking Shadows' head to the link in our bio. 🐺 #trauma #author #beautyandthebeast #childhood #writing #healing #instagood #best #story #YAnovel #stalkingshadows

  3 days ago

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  If you've just hit that mid-week slump like we have and are looking for something positive to focus on, check out our latest post sharing 10 ways to empower yourself and other women in your life. As the pandemic rages on, and as our world becomes increasingly politically divided, there's nothing like building community and showing up to support those around you to be the change. From self-care to spreading positivity, here are just a few of the tips we're implementing into our lives, asap: 💓1. Listen to Others As women, it’s sometimes challenging to feel heard. To empower the women in your life, let them know you care about what they have to say by actively listening. 💓2. Encourage Vulnerability There’s a lot of power in vulnerability. Be sure to make other women feel comfortable opening up about their struggles, and acknowledge the strength it takes them to tell their story. 💓3. Boost Leadership With more female leaders, women of all ages can feel empowered to pursue big dreams. 💓4. Give Thoughtful Compliments Rather than sticking to surface-level praise, compliment other women on their most important qualities. To read the full list and find ways to stay empowered, hit up the link in our bio! Shoutout to @redbubble for contributing this piece. 1st image artwork by @Angelina_Bambina_dsgn 2nd image artwork by @dinosaurioabrumado #empower #women #WCW #humpday #positive #vulnerability #listen #leadership #girlpower #community #best

  4 days ago

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  Debut author M Shelly Conner released her new book ‘everyman: A Novel’ which is a fascinating story combining themes of identity, political unrest, family, belonging, and love. In this historical novel, Eve Mann is a woman coming of age in Chicago against the backdrop of the civil rights and Black Power movements, a time when everything and everyone longs to be made anew. Eve arrives in Ideal, Georgia, in 1972, looking for answers about her mother who died in childbirth, and the father she never knew. This becomes a mission to discover her identity, people, and home. ‘Everyman’ features rebellious Black women straining against the yoke of convention and designated identities, announcing their determination to be free. M Shelly Conner began writing ‘everyman’ as her creative dissertation while at the University of Illinois. She is also the creator of the Quare Life web series and has published essays on dapper queer aesthetics and Black womanhood in theGrio, Playboy, and Crisis Magazine. We spoke to the author about her new book, and it was a timely conversation given the current heated debate about systemic racism, Critical Race Theory, and the attack on voting rights: "I hope that Black readers will realize that as we continue to reach for a future where we can live full lives, we should not participate in the eradication of our pasts as this country tries so desperately to erase its troublesome past and our ancestors within it." And here's what she said about centering the voices of Black women: "Morrison writes that if a book that we want doesn’t exist then we must write it. I grew up in the library searching for myself in the pages especially in works in the Black literary canon. I found incomplete parts at most. ‘everyman‘ is unapologetically Black and queer and privileges a queer/womanist narrative perspective in that women-aligned characters (femme, queer, non-binary and those most impacted by patriarchy) are its guides." Read more of our interview by clicking the link in our bio!📚 #everyman #author #queer #blackwomen #dapper #race #identity #belonging #america #history #chicago #blackpower #movement #criticalracetheory #votingrights #instagood

  5 days ago

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  Today she made HERstory! Mary Wallace “Wally” Funk finally got to realize her lifelong dream of flying into space, at the age of 82, making her the oldest person to exit the earth’s atmosphere! She was part of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin flight. Her story is remarkable and makes you realize how important it is to never give up on your dreams. Read more below. 🚀🌌 Posted @withregram • @flygirlsseries “They said, well you’re a girl, you can not do that,” and because of her gender, Wally Funk’s life-long dream of becoming an astronaut seemed like it would never become a reality. Now at 82 years old, Funk will be the oldest person to ever be in space, and she will finally have the opportunity to rewrite her narrative and shift the paradigm that initially wronged her and so many other women in the past. Funk was a part of Mercury 13, a rigorous training program in the 60s designed to evaluate whether women were fit for space travel. Though passing all of the same tests as the men, the program was canceled, and Funk was denied by NASA’s astronaut corps program four times over. But now, 60 years later, Funk will finally fly into space, proving to the world that it “doesn’t matter what you are,” and as she states that, she likes “to do things that nobody’s ever done.” Photo courtesy of Google #wallyfunk #pilot #powerful #women #spacetravel #aviation #nasa #astronaut #history #outerspace #inspiring #blueorigin #dream #HERstory

  5 days ago

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