There were two planks of wood bridging a stream to enter the property. There was a newly dug grave to the right. There was grief everywhere else. It was a tragic love story. Jehoveness was the one still living, but she was dying from a broken heart. Her husband passed away 5 months [...]

I remember the day I met Hilary Tesha. He came to work wearing a t-shirt that said Mount Shasta Cheerleading Squad. He didn’t know Mount Shasta was on the other side of the world or that I lived there. It felt synchronistic and magical. It made me feel like we both belonged to [...]

There is always a moment that feels like you are in a vacuum and all the air around you is being sucked away. It happens seconds before panic sinks in. The fear sings a story of how alone you are in the world and how you don’t have what you need to make [...]

It takes a little while for MILGRID to smile. She has learned to keep herself relatively invisible, to express her joy quietly and to tiptoe through her own life. When she finally allows herself to smile, she creates a warmth that is palpable. It feels like a hug. But she doesn’t know it. Her [...]

Her eyes are like a map of hardship. You can feel her struggle engraved in them. When ELIESH laughs, the pain is replaced by joyful abandon. But it is her quiet smile that communicates that you are with someone who can overcome anything. She is remarkably thin and yet she emanates a comforting warmth [...]

In September 2000, LEMNA was 30 and pregnant with her 4th child. She was married to a man whose family thrived on abusive power. They loved to leave Lemna feeling powerless and afraid. On this particular night, their cruelty was deafening. They all stood in the home she helped build and demanded that she leave. She was [...]