Exciting News (Sans Morning Sickness)

Christmas came early this year and I’m still trying to wrap my head around what Santa left for me under the tree. Seriously, guys. Best. Present. EVER. The added bonus? It’s a gift that keeps on giving.

Are you ready? … Okay. One of my essays is getting published! In a book. Right beside other essays by bloggers and writers I’ve spent the last two years only admiring from afar. In January I submitted my writing to a book I learned about on Twitter (hooray for social networking!) called Mothering Through the Darkness: Women Open Up About the Postpartum Experience. The editors at The HerStories Project received over 200 submissions and – eek! – mine was one of the ones chosen. Like the ridiculous nerd you all know I am, I haven’t stopped freaking out since I received the e-mail last Sunday. (The book comes out in November; I imagine I’ll still be celebrating then.)

Over the past week I’ve been getting to know some of the other contributors and holy cow, these ladies are the REAL DEAL (meet them here). We’re talking women whose writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Huffington Post, and The Boston Globe – women who make this blog look like an episode of Spongebob. (If any of you are reading, I hope you know how much being counted in your company rocks my world.) They’re blowing minds left and right and I’m over here all like, “I haven’t posted in awhile. I wonder if my mom knows I’m still alive?” Needless to say, this past week has been a whirlwind of starstruck awesomeness.

So, the BOOK (please forgive my excessive use of caps in this post; I can’t help myself). As I mentioned, it’s called Mothering Through the Darkness and it’s a compilation of personal essays written by women who have experience with postpartum depression and/or anxiety. Jessica Smock and Stephanie Sprenger are the editors and when I think about the silence they’re breaking by allowing this book to happen I’m overcome with gratitude. This publication is obviously a personal achievement but more importantly, it’s a cultural victory.

To be a part of something that erases isolating stigmas and opens necessary dialogue … well, it’s beyond words. Really, it is.

Humbled.

Comments

  1. says

    Kara! I haven’t caught up with your blog in a while (dumb of me, really) and so I’m just reading this now! It looks great, by the way. Lovely blog-over. But also, CONGRATS. I’m not even a tiny bit surprised. :)

  2. says

    Your writing, even the seemingly simple sentences, are packed with wisdom, levity, and all good things. I’m loving discovering you through your blog. Yes, to the incredible all-stars writing in the book. PS I think Spongebob is the longest-running cartoon ever. Something to that, huh. :) wink.

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