#5SmartReads - September 26, 2022

Today’s #5SmartReads contributor is Adrianne! She is the founder and CEO of Rosie—a storytelling agency that galvanizes audiences around movements rooted in love, compassion and the lived experiences of the most marginalized audiences. Adrianne is also the co-founder of I Will Not Be Quiet—a community group—now all over the country—that brings women and grassroots organizers together in intimate talking circles to learn about issues, and take action together. A sexual assault survivor and a mother of two, Adrianne has published pieces in ELLE and Marie Claire, organized rallies and led workshops to help others unlearn embedded narratives and patterns, and reclaim their own power and story.

Paid Leave For All (Global Strategy Group)

An important poll to pay attention to from my friends at Paid Leave For All, showing that support for paid leave has increased by DOUBLE DIGITS (!!) in the months since Roe was overturned.

Voters—across the political spectrum—know what they want and need, and it's paid leave.

The Dread Of Watching Your Kid Start School (The Cut)

OOF, yes. I remember when my 5-year-old came home and told me that so-and-so wouldn't play with her at school, and how my heart dropped to my knees hearing it. It brought me back to some of my earliest memories of school, remembering how it felt to be left out. How it felt to not have the words, yet, to express how it made me feel.

And OOF, it makes my heart hurt for her.

Transcript: Ezra Klein Show With Allison Russell (The New York Times)

OK, so this is a podcast, from The Ezra Klein Show, but here is the transcript! I discovered Allison Russell when we both spoke at the Women's March in Nashville two years ago, and since then, she has become one of my favorite musicians of all time.

In this podcast, she explores race and history, strength and the beauty of reclaiming yourself. It's a GORGEOUS interview. She also performs live! It's one not to miss.

Everything I Know About Parenting In A Crisis, I Learned My Mom (The New York Times)

I read this essay from my friend Priyanka Mattoo (who is coming out with a memoir - keep a look out!) at the beginning of the pandemic when my family and I were hunkered down in our Brooklyn apartment.

It made me think about how my parents, and the generations before them, had to do so much more with so much less. And that through it all, they soldiered through, finding joy in the small moments whenever they could. An active choice to wake up every day with an open heart.

There's so much to learn here.

Leaving The Shadows Of Sexual Assault (Marie Claire)

In this moment, so many of us are trying to figure out how to sustain ourselves. There's a drumbeat of horrors all around us—anti-abortion legislations, school shootings... as the list goes on, the feeling of despair becomes exponentially more numbing. This article in Marie Claire, which I wrote right before Roe was overturned, reflects some of my own thoughts on how our own healing is what's deeply needed to live the most abundant life we can envision for ourselves and our world.