Courage on a Nameless Trail
My friend Becky invited me to make a vision board for 2018. I had never made a vision board before and was feeling extremely cynical about 2018, so I was a bit skeptical. But when I learned that making a vision board is just eating snacks while collaging with intention, I was down.
“What do are your goals for 2018?” asked Becky, as we sat around her table, piled with old magazines and scissors and glue sticks. I was at a loss. “I don’t know,” I replied. “I have no idea what will happen this year.” I kept snipping away. Like every year, I hope to do good work and volunteer for things I believe in. But unlike every year, I wonder if we’ll get through 2018 without nuclear war or total financial collapse. This is also the first year I’m working all freelance—I don’t have a reliable income, but am instead hopping check to check and aiming to write three books without running out of money. That uncertainty and chaos makes it hard to plan for anything. How can people be buying houses and saving for retirement when everything might go to hell? It’s not like I have a go-bag packed, but planning beyond the next few months seems too optimistic for me to muster.
I flipped through a copy of a Life magazine from the ‘60s and a headline jumped out to me: “Courage on a nameless trail.” I showed it to Becky. “I think that’s my goal for 2018,” I said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s a nameless trail. All I can do is try to be the best I can be and have some hope.” As things have looked bleak over the past few weeks—our president in unhinged, our laws are draconian, no one is writing back to my emails—I’ve been trying to keep that slogan in mind. Courage on a nameless trail, friends!
THIS WEEK'S COMIC
I got sick last weekend and basically spent 72 solid hours on a sofa watching Black Mirror. I looked up lists of "best episodes" and they're all wrong, in my opinion. So if you're looking to selectively view some Black Mirror, here are my favorite episodes, in a random order: San Junipero, Nosedive, Men Against Fire, USS Callister, Hated in the Nation, Be Right Back, The Entire History of You, White Christmas.
STUFF I MADE
Comic - Guantanamo Bay is still open. Still! The prison has fallen off Americans’ radar—indefinite detention is so yesterday’s news. I wrote this comic, illustrated by Jess Parker, about the lasting impact of the “forever prison.”
STUFF I LOVE
Birth Control Stamps - I love sending mail. Back in Portland, I stopped by a stamp sale that was 100% populated by old white men haggling about rare stamps. But they had a lot of vintage stamps for sale for face value, including these pro-family planning stamps issued in 1972. Can you imagine the Trump administration signing off on these? Or a collective bargaining stamp, for that matter?
The Arab of the Future - Over Christmas, my mom suggested we indulge in the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod (“Christmas book flood”). In Iceland, people gift each other books on December 24th and then spend all night reading. Perfection. The book I requested was cartoonist Riad Sattouf’s memoir Arab of the Future, which explores his Syrian childhood with a lot of wit, charm, and self-deprecation.
Philadelphia Mural Arts - My partner Ben and I are settling in to our new apartment in Philly. One of my favorite things about that city is it’s covered in strange and wonderful murals. A lot of these were put up by the Philly Mural Arts, a community-based organization that works in neighborhoods all around town to paint 50-100 public art projects a year. Check ‘em out on Instagram.
Including Incarcerated Women in #MeToo - This essential article by Tina Vasquez looks at the experiences of a group of women who are often left out of discussions around sexual assault: women imprisoned in immigrant detention facilities.
Fair Punishment Project - It’s hard to keep track of all the action going on around prison reform and police oversight, so I’ve been really appreciating the “In Justice Today” newsletter from the Fair Punishment Project, which lists out recent news about the justice system.
Blaming Capitalism - It felt too ironic to put this sticker from The Nib on my MacBook but, you know, it’s there in spirit.
SOMEONE TO KNOW
Masha Gessen
For the past month, I’ve been happily lugging around Russian journalist Masha Gessen’s newest tome, The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia. Gessen always brings a brilliant and insightful perspective to things I wish I knew more about, whether she’s writing about LGBT rights in Russia or the lives of Pussy Riot activists. Read her rules for surviving autocracy, then put all her books on hold at the library.
SOMETHING TO DO
Attend the Women’s March! The first anniversary of last year’s epic Women’s March is this Saturday, January 20. This year’s theme is “Power to the Polls.” There are marches taking place from Buenos Aires to Bangor, Maine, so find a march near you and hit the streets! (The free, downloadable poster above is available at AnnaBrones.com.)
I’ll write to you in two weeks! In the meantime, keep in touch on Instagram and Twitter, okay? If this is your first time seeing this newsletter, you can subscribe here.