The Only Thing Stronger

On intentional silence, resistance, and coming back to the page.

A sun headed off to bed and ocean as far as the eye can see. Photograph taken by my sister-in-law, Tammy Hurt.

Well, hi. It’s been a minute.

Friends, I opened this blank page to write to all of you and found myself immediately overwhelmed by feelings, by facts, by the sheer velocity of the world since I last published here just a month ago. So much has happened: another senseless murder at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. The sickening detention of a five-year-old boy who was used as bait by ICE. The release of more Epstein files, including an email about a ten-year-old girl and many more horrifying accounts of terror and abuse. And then, somehow, cutting through all of it like a blade of light: the precision and power of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show and the desperately needed message it sent, loud and clear—the only thing stronger than hate is love.

The joyous reaction from the crowd on a cruise ship I was recently on (more on this later) during Bad Bunny’s incredible performance. (Turn your volume down if you’re wearing headphones.)

For me, the last few months have been a much-needed moment of silence. A pause in output so I can better seek out that love in my own life and my creative work. It has been something of an existential intensive: conjuring rather than commenting, absorbing more wisdom, and divesting from more corrupt systems and institutions. (Be you left, right, center, or somewhere on the moon, have you begun divesting yet?)

This time and silence has given me the space to really build out some big ideas, and I should have some genuinely exciting things to share with you very soon. But in the meantime, I wanted to let you know that February’s The Short and Sweet gathering live over Zoom for paid subscribers will feature one of my all-time favorite writers: the one and only Lidia Yuknavitch. Lidia is the author of the acclaimed memoir The Chronology of Water, which Kristen Stewart recently adapted into a powerful feature film. She is also the author of numerous other celebrated books, including The Book of Joan, The Small Backs of Children, and the recent anthology titled The Big M, a fearless exploration and examination of menopause and the power of taking back the female body.

The Big M

Join me and Lidia for a conversation about radical writing, the body as an act of political resistance, and how to keep making art when the world is on fire. (Let the image of Attorney General Pam Bondi turning her back on Epstein survivors, many of whom were trafficked as children, fuel your rage today.)

The Short and Sweet paid subscriber Zoom with special guest Lidia Yuknavitch is Saturday, February 28, from 3pm–4pm ET. The Zoom link will be emailed to subscribers the morning of February 28.

In solidarity,
Amber