Most things in my inbox don't get opened, much less read, even though I have really good intentions/desires. Not so for your newsletter. The immediate reward I get from reading your words AND discovering other groups/creators has literally been lifechanging (e.g. my life pre and post discovering you, Prentis Hemphill, Kai Cheng Thom, the list goes on, and I am forever grateful). That being said, I believe deeply in "Step 1 Wholeness," and everything is impermanent, so if the newsletter ever becomes unwhole for you, I hope you will feel permission to let it go, so the next whole thing you are meant to do can unfold. Deep bows from Boston, Melissa
I love your newsletter! Now that I’m no longer on social media, I’m so grateful I can still follow your work through it. I deeply appreciate how you connect the past to the present and remind us that people have been fighting — and will keep fighting — for a long time.
Your newsletter is a vital source for education, motivation and inspiration. But if it is too burdensome for you, perhaps make it a paid subscription to justify the time spent on it? Or just quit. You have already done more than millions of ppl have done with entire lifetimes. Sadly, that's not an exaggeration! Lol
I want to echo comments that I just found your newsletter this summer and also find in incredibly helpful and a beacon. Also I felt conflicted because of how much you do, so of course will understand if it has to sunset or pause. But please know it's read, enjoyed and so helpful. The writing takes me somewhere new each month and the links at the end always surprise me and take me another week to get through! Shukran!
I find this newsletter useful as a regular way to stay updated with what you are working on and to amplify the folks whose work you want to boost. It’s a helpful accessibility tool to have it all collected in a regular newsletter like this - but writing newsletters can be draining bonus work, so I’m also happy to keep track of your constellation of work in other ways, if you have a way of sharing that is less work for you.
I have only been subscribed for the past few months and this newsletter has been an incredible resource for my abolitionist journey. As long as you have the capacity to create it, it is gratefully received. The wealth of organizations and literature and art and other individuals you share that are committed to this work is a gift. Thank you.
I look forward to this newsletter hitting my inbox every month, and also recognize that you need to balance many projects. If it ends, I'll be grateful for what you've generously shared with it to date!
I read your newsletter every time it comes out, and I find it useful and encouraging. It’s always the reminder I need to do what I can where I am, and I share bits of it with my own comrades. You’ve given us so much over the years and I would completely understand a slowdown, but please know that your work is incredibly appreciated.
I so appreciate your writing, thinking, research, and resources, but I also want you to make the decisions that are best for you and your presence and work in the world. My first protest was in a stroller with Martin Luther King in Boston in 1965. My kids' first protests were against the second Iraq war, walking some, carried some. All of us are still at it.
I’m a new reader but really appreciate your thoughts! Helps me feel less alone in mine. But also totally understand that you need to balance this against your other life responsibilities. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!
I echo Tara and Fred below. For as long as you're game to publish this powerful, empowering newsletter, I will remain a most grateful and committed reader. That said, if/when you feel it's time to move on and turn that attention elsewhere, please know how much your efforts here have meant to us. And I know how fortunate others will be in the future, as they come across your beautiful work in whatever form it takes.
You may like this post. It's an interview with a prisoner who has spent 39 years in prison in the UK for a crime he did not do but continues to fight for freedom against an unfair and broken justice system. https://substack.com/home/post/p-154270643
Most things in my inbox don't get opened, much less read, even though I have really good intentions/desires. Not so for your newsletter. The immediate reward I get from reading your words AND discovering other groups/creators has literally been lifechanging (e.g. my life pre and post discovering you, Prentis Hemphill, Kai Cheng Thom, the list goes on, and I am forever grateful). That being said, I believe deeply in "Step 1 Wholeness," and everything is impermanent, so if the newsletter ever becomes unwhole for you, I hope you will feel permission to let it go, so the next whole thing you are meant to do can unfold. Deep bows from Boston, Melissa
I love your newsletter! Now that I’m no longer on social media, I’m so grateful I can still follow your work through it. I deeply appreciate how you connect the past to the present and remind us that people have been fighting — and will keep fighting — for a long time.
Your newsletter is a vital source for education, motivation and inspiration. But if it is too burdensome for you, perhaps make it a paid subscription to justify the time spent on it? Or just quit. You have already done more than millions of ppl have done with entire lifetimes. Sadly, that's not an exaggeration! Lol
I want to echo comments that I just found your newsletter this summer and also find in incredibly helpful and a beacon. Also I felt conflicted because of how much you do, so of course will understand if it has to sunset or pause. But please know it's read, enjoyed and so helpful. The writing takes me somewhere new each month and the links at the end always surprise me and take me another week to get through! Shukran!
I find this newsletter useful as a regular way to stay updated with what you are working on and to amplify the folks whose work you want to boost. It’s a helpful accessibility tool to have it all collected in a regular newsletter like this - but writing newsletters can be draining bonus work, so I’m also happy to keep track of your constellation of work in other ways, if you have a way of sharing that is less work for you.
I have only been subscribed for the past few months and this newsletter has been an incredible resource for my abolitionist journey. As long as you have the capacity to create it, it is gratefully received. The wealth of organizations and literature and art and other individuals you share that are committed to this work is a gift. Thank you.
I look forward to this newsletter hitting my inbox every month, and also recognize that you need to balance many projects. If it ends, I'll be grateful for what you've generously shared with it to date!
I read your newsletter every time it comes out, and I find it useful and encouraging. It’s always the reminder I need to do what I can where I am, and I share bits of it with my own comrades. You’ve given us so much over the years and I would completely understand a slowdown, but please know that your work is incredibly appreciated.
I’m also *super excited* about your new children’s book and can’t wait to add it to the raising luminaries prison abolition toolkit for kids
I so appreciate your writing, thinking, research, and resources, but I also want you to make the decisions that are best for you and your presence and work in the world. My first protest was in a stroller with Martin Luther King in Boston in 1965. My kids' first protests were against the second Iraq war, walking some, carried some. All of us are still at it.
I've ony recently subscribed and yes, your newsletter inspires and activates me, thank you for taking the time to write it.
I’m a new reader but really appreciate your thoughts! Helps me feel less alone in mine. But also totally understand that you need to balance this against your other life responsibilities. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!
Thanks again for another useful/inspirational edition of the newsletter. XOXO
I echo Tara and Fred below. For as long as you're game to publish this powerful, empowering newsletter, I will remain a most grateful and committed reader. That said, if/when you feel it's time to move on and turn that attention elsewhere, please know how much your efforts here have meant to us. And I know how fortunate others will be in the future, as they come across your beautiful work in whatever form it takes.
I find your newsletter very useful. I also follow you on Bluesky! ♥️
You may like this post. It's an interview with a prisoner who has spent 39 years in prison in the UK for a crime he did not do but continues to fight for freedom against an unfair and broken justice system. https://substack.com/home/post/p-154270643