Good morning authors. This isn't what I originally planned to post today. Honestly, I wasn't sure I wanted or should post today. Sword & Silk's mission is to be a publisher of womxn's fiction, to support strong female characters and the authors who write them. Strength is a complex idea. It can be found in physical, mental, and moral aspects. Strength goes beyond kickass heroines who swing swords and fight monsters. Strength is found in compassion, in the ability to empathize with someone outside your own experience. There is strength in kindness. There is strength in the stories we tell, a quiet resilience in vulnerability.
This week has shaken many of us. There are reasons so many of us are shaken. It is important to understand that Roe protected more than one side of the debate. It protected both. It gave you the freedom to be either because it gave you the power over your own body. When one freedom falls, the rest are in danger.
We've been here before. This history has played out, time and time again. The price to life, and livelihood, is always high.
But I want to tell you that there is power in the stories we share. The personal stories so many womxn shared this week. The collective strength has been humbling. Stories offer a window of connection, a beacon in the dark that we are not alone.
As authors, our voices often serve as a reflection of the times. There is power in the stories we write. Our writing can be a warning of what could be. Many have been quoting Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale this week, a novel published over 35 years ago during the height of Reagan's era. Stories resonate with us. They galvanize us. They have the power to evoke and create empathy over and over again.
And stories save us. They are a light. An escape. A reprieve from the weight that crushes us. Keep telling your stories. Don't let the world silence your words. Don't let it take your strength.
Here, we will continue with our mission.
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." -Maya Angelou
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