life, travel, stories – Join the journey, Love Raven
Dear Reader, Today is Juneteenth, aka the day of celebration commemorating the abolition of slavery. With the current protests surrounding George Floyd’s death and larger issues in the U.S., this holiday takes on special significance this year. In fact, at my organization, we were given the day off to consider racism, so, that is exactly... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, How much do you know about your family ancestry? I’m currently reading a book called White Like Her by Gail Lukasik. This personal story details Lukasik’s family history in light of the revelation that Gail’s mother identified herself as a white woman even though she had black ancestry. While the story makes commentary... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, Where is this coronavirus ‘thing’ headed anyway? This is a great question that you will, of course, not get a straight answer on. As is so often the case in the United States, this country is once again divided on the coronavirus issue. I scanned news articles today and categorized/ summarized the following... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, I recently finished reading the book Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup (review here), which documents the author’s unfortunate and tragic imprisonment as a slave in Louisiana from 1841 – 1853. Wanting to hear more about the role of race in America, I decided to read Negroland by Margo Jefferson, which tells... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, Are you a fan of flatbread? To be honest, although I have had flatbread in the past, I had never prepared one until the pandemic. For many, flatbreads have become a new staple as they require so few ingredients, but also because they can be really, very good! In my flatbread adventures, I... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, Is it better to have liberty that is lost than to never have been free at all? This is a horrible question and one that should never have to be asked, however, I ponder it all the same as I finish reading Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. What a sad story,... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, There’s nothing like sickness to help put things into perspective. And, no, I am not talking about the coronavirus today. Instead, I am considering my recent experience with a migraine headache. I am no stranger migraines; however, this recent episode was particularly long and agonizing. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, however, before... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, The funny thing about memoirs is that unlike with fiction, the protagonist is a real person who you can Google and find out more about. I enjoy learning about the author whose memoir I read, but one thing I will not do is Google a picture of the author until I have completed... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, Why do we read fiction? Unlike an algebra textbook or a cookbook, our motivations for reading something that is totally ‘make believe’ is unclear. Of course, there are obvious answers to my question – we read ‘for fun’ or simply because we want to ‘know what happens.’ Lately, I have been reading memoirs,... Continue Reading →
Dear Reader, You know how the bright sky can darken within a matter of minutes before a storm? That’s what happened when I was sitting outside to write one afternoon. It was a warm, humid day in Boston, but the sky was overcast and there was a slight breeze, which made the air comfortable rather... Continue Reading →
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