Who are you?

Hey Examined Family, I was just doing some bookkeeping and I thought you’d be as jazzed as I was that in 2023, we donated to the following organizations together:

• Shelterwood Collective

• Oakland Theater Project

• Futures Without Violence

• The Climate Mobilization

• Florence Immigrant Refugee and Rights Project

• Anthropocene Alliance

• the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project

• Showing Up for Racial Justice

• In-Na-Po—Indigenous Nations Poets

• Saddle Up and Read

• Birth Detroit

• The Grace Smith House

These donations were connected to the Q&As I do with authors, activists, and others (like this and this and this); I always ask where they would like us—you, me, all of us paid subscribers—to donate $250 in honor of their labor. That’s $3,000 to so many cool organizations! I’m proud of us and delighted that I get to interview people with such beautiful instincts.

If you’re not a paid subscriber, join us! You get to be part of giving to this wide range of organizations each year.

I’m on vacation with my family this week—my kids’ first international trip! John, my husband, and I met in Italy at a writer’s residency (a bonkers romantic story with plenty of anxiety attacks and tears thrown in, trust me), so we decided to show them the spot where we met. And fill them full of pasta and gelato, of course.

Like this, but full of carbs.

In the meantime, head over to the Introductions post if you haven’t already and introduce yourself to the rest of the Examined Family. There are a huge range of amazing people who regularly read and contribute to this space. A little taste:

I'm Sandra, 32, black queer first generation American woman living in Los Angeles with my wife and newborn. My email box is regularly a hot mess but I always make a point of reading these newsletters! I used to live in Oakland so I have much fondness of the Bay Area and really appreciated reading "Learning in Public." One thing currently on my mind is how I can go about a reexamination of and recommitment to various values as I'm in this life chapter of my newly expanded family.

Hello Good People! So many interesting stories here. My name is Paul and I have lived in San Antonio, Texas for the past 4 years after 24 years in Colorado (Colorado Springs + Denver) - was born + raised in Portland, Oregon (1st generation American) with a few other stops along the way. Glad to have found some people who reflect this sentiment from Bill Murray - “I want to bounce off people that are positive and hope that’ll make me more positive and give me momentum.” Reading Courtney's questions and thinking that Liberatory Design (which was birthed by several Oakland friends) may provide some insight. I try to notice things and am thinking some big collaborations could grow out of this emergent community.

Hello. I'm Melissa (she/her), 58 years old, living in Portugal with my wife of 21 years. Questions include: What do I do now, and how American is that question? Is there anything I can say to those I love in the US other than "Get out?" How did things get so bad, and is there anything I can do from here to keep them from getting any worse? Is my resistance to ambition a trauma response or wisdom or both?

Hi there! I'm Rachel.... 42 single, white, female with an American passport living in Uganda. No kids. Life really is good-- especially the work of accompanying North American college students as they learn to navigate a new country amidst different cultures-- which gives them the space and ability to examine their own lives/ cultures etc. East Africa is where I was born and the place I am most home, through questions of home and roots are always curious and interesting to me. Despite all the goodness, I have found myself up to my elbows in reckoning with this new space of midlife-- and a bit of a stranger to myself. I am stepping away from it all this next semester for a sabbatical, to see what I can see. Trusting the ground beneath my feet, and the deep places in my being responding to the things that call to me forward-- like this right now. But it is HARD... and I don't know what is beyond this threshold. I appreciate this space and the ideas being explored... feels like soul-food really.

Hello Darlings, I’m 72, a journalist, public relations provider, writer, poet, administrative assistant, mother, wife, gourmet home cook, calligrapher, gardener, reader, tarot interpreter, meditator, and knower of many things. I grew up in the San Joaquin Valley, lived there again, and moved to Berkeley 11 years ago. Married 43 years on June 7 to a wonderful guy. We have a daughter who is 41, smart and the dearest of hearts. I have always loved cats — we adopted a brother-sister bonded pair last year when they were 5, and they are a wonderful source of amusement. I am working on an asymmetric new hairstyle, like Stella, only mine is white and super short.

Hi, I'm Elena, 36, living in Skopje, Macedonia. Currently living my year of rest and relaxation after working 8+ years remotely for a tech company. During this period, I'm trying out new things, (including spending more time writing) and taking my time to figure out what next.

I mean, come on, what an incredible range of humans right? Add your voice to the mix. I can’t wait to “meet” you when I’m back online. Take care.