Home of the Brave

Sudanese refugees, Ted Lasso, & a Little Women Cover Reveal!

Welcome to a newsletter dedicated for looking for spaces where beauty and justice meet! Most often these days, I’m finding that space in children’s literature. You’ll also find essays on creativity and motherhood, and Little Women in the archives. The monthly essay is free! (If it doesn’t show up, click the three dots to read the entire essay before the paywall). If you want to support my work for $5/month, you also get access to my monthly list of Just Beautiful Links. Thanks, and read on!

The question is not, -- how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education -- but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?” — Charlotte Mason, 19th Century education reformer

I just read the story of a Sudanese refugee boy, Kek, arriving in Minnesota. This book was not perfect¹. On the other hand, I loved how in the specific details of Kek’s disorienting arrival to America, I could tap into my own experiences of disorientation, outsider-ness, and overwhelm in American culture. This novel is in verse, and here is his first visit to a grocery store. It could have been written by me in the Walmart toothpaste aisle in college:

“The grocery store
has rows and rows
of color, of light,
of easy hope.
Hannah moves down the aisle,
but I stand like a tree rooted firm,
my eyes too full of this place,
with its answers to prayers
on every shelf.
...
I reach out and touch
a piece of bright green food
I’ve never seen before.
And then I begin to cry.

Kek’s ESL teacher at school is originally from Guatemala, and she understands how overwhelming it is to arrive in a new place, to wonder what “home” is any more when all the people who made up your home are no longer with you. But she reads them the poem engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty, with tears in her eyes. Kek contemplates,

“Of all the things I didn't know
about America,
this is the most amazing:
I didn't know there would be so many tribes
from all over the world.
How could I have imagined
the way they walk through the world
side by side
without fear,
all free to gaze at the same sky
with the same hopes?”

The book is not all entirely rosy about immigration to America. There’s the ideal. The Statue of Liberty and the promise of belonging held out. But Kek’s teenage cousin Ganwar, who has been in America much longer, sees that America doesn’t always live up to its promises.

But you'll never really feel like an American,
Ganwar says. 
You'll see.

Why? I ask.
Ganwar shrugs.
Because they won't let you.

This book that I whizzed through in an afternoon made me cry, and was perhaps the best voting prep I could have done in this angsty political season. Kek is a person. His neighbour Hannah in the foster care system is a person. His teacher is a person. The neighbour down the road with a cow is a person. Even the policeman is a person. It reminded me of how warm and welcoming and generous American culture can be (even in cold Minnesota😉 ).

My husband and I just finished watching Ted Lasso (yes, we’re late to the party). But watching an American navigate UK football when you are an American living in a British colony was deeply heartwarming. It got me crying for the same reasons Home of the Brave got me. Yes, people are awful. People don’t like outsiders, people don’t like change. We see that. But people are also so kind. And Ted was the best of America. He’s not witty. He doesn’t have zingy one-liners, he stubbornly refuses to like tea, dreams of barbeque sauce, and he makes such American-centric comments about British culture that I would cringe if they weren’t said with a tone of friendly wonder and delight. (“Wait, we’re being demoted to something called the CHAMPIONS League? Y’all are weird.”) He’s just so sincere².

James K. A. Smith wrote a book called, “You are what you love,” arguing that the things we do habitually both reveal our true loves, and shape our hearts towards deeper love. Charlotte Mason, the 19th century educational reformer said something similar. It doesn’t matter how much you know. What matters is how much you care. And how many things you care about.

I guess this election season, this is what I’m thinking about. I care about America. I care about our ideals, our promises. I care enough to participate in our democracy. I care about pushing us more towards our Ted Lasso selves. I care about becoming a Home of the Brave.

PS: I have not figured out to leave comments on for everyone! Not just paid subscribers. But you can always hit “reply” and I’ll get an email!

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LITTLE WOMEN COVER REVEAL…

I’ve been working this week on the final line edits. My job is almost done. And… here’s the cover!

It’s going to look so wonderful on a shelf with the other Owl’s Nest classics:

These annotated editions are really fun for Middle School or High School students who want a little extra support - or for teachers or homeschool parents looking for supplementary materials along with the original text. The books include historical notes, reflection questions, and author information. And are just lovely as well!

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JUST BEAUTIFUL LINKS

A round up of what I’m reading, listening to, or baking - or reading with my kids. The goal is for the list to be a collection of things that highlight justice or beauty in some way. It’s a “thank you” to those who support this substack with their paid subscriptions. Paid subscriptions keep me writing. For example: I sprained my ankle this week. I would have procrastinated this essay by weeks except I knew there were paid subscribers on the line, so I was able to prioritize this in and amoung my other paid work. So THANK YOU!