knittedwit

Mia Birdsong, b. 1973

​​For our second year of HerStory Book Club, we are starting in much the same way we finished 2022. Our final theme for 2022 was breaking the burnout cycle many of us find ourselves in, and our first theme for 2023 is building community to feed our souls. Starting and ending with hope and purpose seem like good ways to bookend our club, and we hope you find January’s book and author as inspiring as we have.

We are starting our New Year off with hope and love as we feature Mia Birdsong and her transformative book, How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community. This book discusses how building community and fostering deep personal relationships with others enhances our own lives, and how modern American society, so steeped in its particular brand of individualism and white supremacy, leans away from deep connection instead of toward it. The particular focus of this book is on communities that encompass marginalized folks, such as Black and brown people, the LGBTQIA+ community, poor, displaced, and houseless communities, and single mothers, to name a few. The way the people and communities that Birdsong interviewed for this book show up for each other is a lesson to be learned for all of us longing for belonging in our disconnected age.

This book is hopeful and beautiful and inspiring. It’s hard to listen to and hard to put down, all at once. It inspires us to hold a mirror to our own lives and think more deeply about how we are working on our own communities, and how much more we have to gain from deepening those communities than from building more walls around our own places in the world.

Mia Birdsong is a writer, advocate, speaker, community member, mother, partner, friend, and thinker. Her work centers the marginalized and explores what is possible if community was centered more in our lives. Her communities are many and wide-ranging, and through them, she has found deep meaning and love and support. We could all learn a thing or two from her work and her example. Our colorway, How We Show Up, was inspired by the lovely interconnectedness of the book cover, and we hope to knit our communities together using this yarn during this first month of 2023.

Books by Mia Birdsong:

• How We Show Up 
• Many TED talks and articles
• More Than Enough podcast for The Nation

Want more like this? Here are some other authors we suggest you read/listen to:

• Sonya Renee Taylor
• Patrisse Khan-Cullors
• Adrienne Maree Brown
• Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

One of the things we’ve been making sure to do the last several years is to try to end the year with intention and as much calm energy as is possible during this often-stressful time. As we created our HerStory list, we knew we wanted to showcase a book that we’ve read and found helpful, and we hope you do, too.

Burnout, by twin sisters Emily and Amelia Nagoski, is the how-to-move- forward-in-a-difficult-world-with-all-of-the-expectations-of-being-a- person-in-that-world manual we all need. The book’s goal is not only to explain the primary cause of emotional exhaustion, but to provide useful and accessible tools to actually process and deal with it. Stressors are an inescapable part of life, and we think it’s safe to say that we all know that existing within a state of stress for long periods will lead to over- exhaustion and a laundry list of problems. Knowing how to break through those cycles is a coping mechanism most of us could use. The sisters provide accessible information and many different paths toward what is the ultimate goal: completing the stress cycle.

We experience emotions in our brains, yes, but we also experience emotions in our body. Even if we feel that we’ve “dealt” with our stress, if we haven’t found a way to exorcise it physically, it’s still there. And it can express itself through all manner of symptoms, both emotional and physical. This book explains how that stress manifests itself, using real-life examples from mostly women in the author’s lives (including themselves), and then provides different ways to, as they say time and time again, complete those cycles. Y’all really should read or listen to the book, because there are so many light bulb moments, but we’ll share a few of our favorite things that these sisters recommend to complete stress cycles: a good cry; a bit of exercise; a 20-second (or longer) hug with a loved one.

As we brainstormed our colorway for Burnout, of course we considered the inspiration of the book cover. It’s vibrant and fun and bright. But then we thought about the goal of all of us reading this book, and it’s to achieve the opposite of burnout. It’s to achieve something cool and comfortable and soothing. So, we decided to dive into the opposite of what the book cover tells us. We used our giggling technique to softly blend blues and teals and greens and whites into a cool and soothing colorway, perfect for the crafting projects you’ll tackle after you’ve completed a stress cycle.

Books by the Nagoski sisters:

• Come as You Are (Emily Nagoski) 

Want more like this? Here are some other authors we suggest you read/listen to:

• Glennon Doyle

• Tarana Burke

• Brene Brown

We hope you have enjoyed this year of the HerStory Book Club as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. We are busy working on our 2023 author list (because we can’t just do a Book Club for one year!), so keep your eyes peeled and make some space on your TBR (to be read) list! 

b. 1953

This month’s HerStory recipient was the first one we chose as we compiled our list. It’s also maybe the most difficult of them all to write, because we could literally write an entire book on how much we love Robin Wall Kimmerer’s writings and theories and entire person. It feels like a big responsibility to talk about her and the effect her writing has had on our hearts and souls, and if this is your first introduction to her, we find ourselves jealous that you get to experience her for the first time.

Lorajean likes to say that Braiding Sweetgrass feels like sacred text. It is a foray into the most beautiful relationship with nature and the natural world you’ve maybe ever read. Kimmerer is a botanist and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and her writings effortlessly fuse these two perspectives into a new/old way of communing with, learning from, and being in nature. Each story in Braiding Sweetgrass and her earlier book, Gathering Moss takes you into a different part of Kimmerer’s life and work, both of which are beautifully intertwined. Reciprocity is the belief that underlies all of her work; not only feeling connected to the natural world in a way that sometimes seems almost out of reach in our modern society, but communing with, sharing with, and giving back to nature in a way that it feels like our current society, based in white supremacy and deeply steeped in capitalism, actively revolts against. 

We recommend listening to Kimmerer’s books, as her voice has a soothing cadence, and you can feel the connection to nature in her voice and stories. You might find yourself tearing up, or texting your bestie as you hear her stories. You may find yourself regaling your family with summaries at dinner, hugging your loved ones a bit tighter, planning more outdoor time and trips to clean up the natural world around you. You might start plotting your vegetable garden for next Spring, you might squat down to gaze at the mosses surrounding you a bit more. And, as we face a future in which our climate is in peril, you may find yourself caring a bit more about the natural world and working to incorporate that care more and more into your daily life. 

Our Braiding Sweetgrass colorway was created to echo the aesthetics, not only of the book cover, but of the sweetgrass itself the book centers its story around. Our hope for you is that you enjoy this colorway, and the project you make from it, as you listen to the soothing sounds and beautiful stories that make up Robin Wall Kimmmerer’s writing and speaking. Search out some of her online lectures, too, if you can. You won’t be sorry, that we can guarantee.

Books by Robin Wall Kimmerer:

• Braiding Sweetgrass
• Gathering Moss

Want more like this? Here are some other authors we suggest you read/listen to:

• Joy Harjo
• Beth Piatote
• Shonda Buchanan
• Dina Gilio-Whitaker
• Suzanne Simard
• Susan Hand Shetterly

We are taking a journey through history with our October author, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, but not the white-washed, settler-focused history most of us were taught in school. October’s author is an Indigenous activist and writer whose goal is to share history from the perspective of Indigenous peoples.

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz began her foray into activism in 1968 as the founder of a second-wave feminist organization called Cell 16, which was a women’s liberation movement that advocated its members “separate from men who are not consciously working for female liberation”. She began her work in the American Indian Movement (AIM) shortly after, and it has been her devotion to Indigenous people’s rights that has guided her activism in the decades since.  

Her works mostly center on Indigenous rights in the United States, but in the 1980s, she traveled to Nicaragua frequently to assist the Miskito Indians in a land dispute with the government. This indigenous group ended up being collateral damage in the Contra  war that the US had become involved in with the Sandinistas. She wrote two books about her experiences there, and the damage inflicted on the Miskitos that she witnessed. As a disturbing aside, the land rights of the Miskito Indians are still, to this day, being trampled on by settlers, mostly in the service to capitalism (a trend we see in the entire history of the United States as well).

She’s written some of the most respected texts on the United States and its treatment of Indigenous people, including An Indigenous People’s History of the United States and Not a Nation of Immigrants. She advocates for self-determination for Indigenous peoples, and for a more honest approach to this nation’s origin story. Her work shines a light on the fact that Indigenous history has been all but written out of our history books, and what is taught is often sanitized to within an inch of its life.

We used the cover of her book, Roots of Resistance, as our colorway inspiration (and its name). The book discusses the history of Indigenous land tenure in New Mexico, which has a convoluted settler history and many indigenous peoples who are still trying to retain autonomy and cultural connection to their native lands.

Books by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz:

• An Indigenous People’s History of the United States
• Not a Nation of Immigrants
• All the Real Indians Died Off and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans
• Roots of Resistance
• Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment

Want more like this? Here are some other authors we suggest you read/listen to:

• Malala Yousafzai
• Angela Y. Davis
• Gloria Steinem
• Rigoberta Menchú Tum
• Winona LaDuke

We hope you enjoy this HerStory Book Club as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. We envision an open-ended Book Club, with folks reading or listening to whichever book they’d like from each author’s If you’d like a spoiler of all of the authors we’ll be showcasing this year, check out our website: https://knittedwit.com/herstory-2022-authors/

Sandra Cisneros is the perfect author to feature as kids head back to school, because her House on Mango Street is a staple in many school districts in America. This coming-of-age story is Cisneros’ best-known work, and it has garnered piles of awards (as well as been the victim of censorship and challenges due to the fact that it centers a Mexican-American family that lives in poverty and deals with racism and sexual assault). 

In all of her work, Cisneros writes about her character’s search for a sense of belonging. She herself straddles two worlds and two cultures; her entire life, she has moved back and forth between Mexico and the USA, both geographically and culturally. Many of her works are written in both English and Spanish; she noted that she is grateful to have “twice as many words to pick from … two ways of looking at the world.” She often blends the two languages, using one over the other where she feels either language better conveys the meaning or improves the rhythm of the passage, regardless of the main language the piece is in. 

Cisnerors was the first female Mexican-American writer to have her work published by a mainstream publisher, and has worked since then to uplift other Chicana/o writers and help them get published by major publishing houses. Community is central to her work; she truly believes that a rising tide lifts all boats, and works to both support other writers and readers in their journeys. Both the work she does outside of writing and her writings themselves explore issues of identity and belonging. Her goal is to honor and uplift her ancestors; her novel Caramelo is a love letter to her father, and to the unconditional love and support he offered her. Of particular interest to our crafty community, the book is named for an unfinished rebozo (shawl) that the narrator’s great-grandmother was working on before she died: 

“Even with half its fringes hanging unbraided like mermaid’s hair, it was an exquisite rebozo of five tiaras, the cloth a beautiful blend of toffee, licorice, and vanilla stripes flecked with black and white, which is why they called this design a caramelo.”  – Caramelo, 2002

Our Mango Street colorway is bright and powerful, much like the culture Cisneros reflects in her writing. The inspiration is the gorgeous first edition cover of The House on Mango Street.

Books by Sandra Cisneros:

• The House on Mango Street
• Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories
• Martita, I Remember You/Martita, te recuerdo 
• Caramelo

Want more like this? Here are some other authors we suggest you read/listen to:

• Isabel Allende
• Julia Alvarez
• Erika Sanchez
• Esmeralda Santiago
• Laura Esquivel

We are so happy to be sharing this month’s HerStory recipient with y’all. Folks who haven’t yet encountered her, meet Alisha Rai, our internet bestie (in our own minds, heehee).

Rai is a fabulous writer: her Modern Romance trilogy is in almost-constant rotation in our earbuds and kindles. Her earlier books are very spicy, but in everything she writes, there is an inherent sweetness and kindness.

Her Instagram is a true joy to follow, and, if the videos she shares from there are anything to go by, her TikTok must be as well (we have resisted the siren song of that app so far!) She produced a cooking show throughout the pandemic on YouTube (link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyOL0ZfUCiN3BO4ffTwwyXg), and does regular reviews of new Trader Joe’s items on her Instagram. She makes the best crafts and tells the best stories. She really is someone who you follow for a while and think: she could be my bestie. She is also the co-host of one of the sweetest podcasts ever, Lovestruck Daily. It’s a daily dose of love stories, and the perfect thing to binge while crafting.

When she was getting started writing romance (while enjoying a successful career as an attorney), she was told by publishing house after publishing house that because her books centered non-white protagonists, they wouldn’t sell (doesn’t this sound familiar for so many of our HerStory authors this year? It seems like, instead of denying non-white authors places in the publishing schedule, the publishing industry needs to start promoting more non-white folks into executive positions, eh?). So, Rai explored the world of self-publishing, and her book Serving Pleasure was the first self-published book to appear on The Washington Post’s annual list of best books of the year, in 2015. As an outspoken woman on the internet, she has been the victim of the worst kind of trolling for things like speaking up against racism in the romance world and sharing her dating experiences. But she keeps being herself, and sharing herself, and we are so grateful to her for that, because herself is a pretty special person.

Alisha Rai is one of our favorite examples of the best of what modern romance is: inclusive, sex-positive, diverse in both race/culture/background and in sexuality of her characters. Consent is at the center of sexual relationships, and mutual trust and respect are givens. Plus her books are just so darned fun, it’s hard to put them down! 

Our Partners in Crime colorway ins inspired by her upcoming release of the same name (our calendars are marked for October, when it comes out!). 

Books by Alisha Rai:

• Modern Love Trilogy (The Right Swipe, Girl Gone Viral, & First Comes Like)
• Forbidden Hearts Trilogy (Hate to Want You, Wrong to Need You, & Hurts to Love You)
• Hot as Hades
• Upcoming Partners in Crime (publishing in October!)

Want more like this? Here are some other authors we suggest you read/listen to:

• Rebekah Witherspoon
• Tia Williams
• Courtney Milan
• Lucy Score
• Alexis Hall
• Mia Sosa
• Jayci Lee