Making Art Keeps Good Alive

In the face of ugliness, pain, and death, it’s art that has the power to open us all to healing, to the imagining of new possibilities. 

In response to the multitude of global crises we’re currently experiencing, editor Stephanie Raffelock put out a much-needed call for art to uplift and inform the world. I’m proud to say that my fellow She Writes Press authors and I answered the call. The authors had two weeks to submit their work, and nearly one hundred women offered submissions. 

She Writes Press publisher Brooke Warner said this, “In the groundswell of submissions, I witnessed the profound power of women creators rising up to say yes. Yes, our voices matter. Yes, our words and our art can soothe angsting hearts. Yes, connection matters. Yes, I want to be seen. Yes, I see you too.”

Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis—a sometimes comforting, sometimes devastating, but universally relatable collection of prose, poetry, and art about living through difficult times like these—is the result of our efforts. 

Addressing topics including grief and loss, COVID-19 and war in Ukraine, the gravity of need and being needed, the broad range of human response to crisis in all its forms, and more, these pieces explore how we can find beauty, hope, and deeper interpretation of world events through art—even when the world seems like it’s been turned inside out and upside-down.

The collection of essays, poetry, and art in this book are meant to feed and nourish our hearts and minds. It’s what women do—we feed people. To that end, 100% of the proceeds from this work will be donated to the nonprofit World Central Kitchen, an organization conceived by chef José Andrés as a way to feed people affected by natural disasters and war. World Central Kitchen financially supports food banks and restaurants that provide free food throughout the world.

In her Introduction to Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis, editor Stephanie Raffelock, states:

There are piles of rubble everywhere in our collective heartbreak. To write, to sing, to dance, to be playful and silly, to make things, to gather things and arrange them, to praise, to pay homage to grief upon an altar in the corner of our garden, to plant the seeds of gratitude–this is the beginning of how we contribute to the cleanup and the rebuilding of a nation’s soul. This is our time to make things.

When Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis released on June 28th, it immediately became the #1 New Release in Women’s Growth (on Amazon).

Not only am I immensely proud of my fellow authors, but I’m pleased to announce that my essay, “What to Say to Ridiculous People in Unbearable Situations,” is part of this beautiful anthology. 

*** BONUS BONUS BONUS ***

To further support this cause, I will be giving away 5 signed copies of Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis. 

Please email me here if you would like to be entered into the drawing. 

Even if you don’t win a free copy, please consider buying and reading: https://bookshop.org/…/art-in-the-time-of…/9781647424893 (Also available wherever books are sold)

News & Upcoming Events

Podcasts:

On “The Midlife Movement” podcast, host Jo Blackwell and I discuss my memoir, the closed adoption experience, and the joys and pitfalls of adoption search and reunion. Take a listen here. 

Podcast host Lanise Shelley and I discuss why I chose to write a memoir about my adoption search and reunion experience on “When They Were Young.” Listen here.

Upcoming Events:

July 19th- Julie to speak to Vicky’s Book Club in Hinsdale, IL about her memoir, Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging.

Aug. 10th- Julie to discuss Twice a Daughter with Tracee’s Book Club in Sarasota, FL.

Aug. 13th- Julie to meet with Deb B’s Book Club in Long Beach, IN.

Don’t miss a blog post!

Receive my blog posts directly to your inbox. 

Available on Amazon!