In Honor of 10,000: Shout Out a Woman Who's Got Your Back!
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Today I welcomed member number 10,000 to join the ranks of She Writes. (Feel free to welcome her, too: Heather Gordon-Young!) And those ranks have swelled in a way that Debbie and I never dreamed possible. In a little over a year we have gone from zero to 10K, and when Debbie and I were discussing how to commemorate the rapidly approaching milestone, Debbie said something very simple, and very powerful. "Just think of it!" she said to me. "Ten thousand women have now got your back."
That's right. Ten thousand women (and a few good men, too) are now a part of this community, sharing their knowledge, lending their support, and banding together to make the art and practice of writing just a little bit easier for us all. This is an incredibly powerful thing, a potentially game-changing thing. Debbie had it right. Every one of you can now say: ten thousand She Writers have got my back.
To celebrate, I am asking each of you to shout out a woman who has had your back, now or ever. We all need to be carried sometimes; none of us can walk this walk alone. Who has protected you from hurt, from sadness, from harm? Who has fed you when you were hungry -- for a hug, for an encouraging word, for a hand? Who has remembered your birthday, read your first draft, dropped everything to come when you called? Who has been your teacher, your mentor, your student, your sister, your friend? Remember her and honor her by giving her a shout out on She Writes today, and if you tweet, shout her out on Twitter with the hashtag #SWSO. (She Writes Shout Out.) I can think of no better way to mark this occasion than lighting up this network and the world beyond it with the names of the women who make us shine.
My shout out goes to my flesh-and-blood sister. A few weeks ago she flew from San Francisco to New York to help me celebrate my 38th birthday. She'd been pulling all nighters for two weeks working on a grant application for her job in city government, and was dead tired and downright spent. (The subject line of her email to me with her flight information was: "I'm coming, dammit!") But that didn't stop her from fulfilling what she saw as her mission for the weekend -- getting me settled into the apartment I'd been living in for a year, but hadn't yet had the strength or the help I needed to make into a home. This woman held my hand on the ferry to IKEA, hauled flatpacks onto flatbeds and was visibly frustrated that while she helped me find just about everything I needed, she didn't succeed in getting me a headboard for my bed. She and my dad, who also flew up to lend a hand to the rescue-Kamy mission, spent hours building bookshelves, assembling cabinets, and hanging lamps. She made multiple trips to the hardware store. She used a power drill. She cut out newspaper sqaures the size of the art I'd never hung on the walls so I could decide where I wanted it. And on my birthday, she and my dad spent the day chopping, slicing and cooking a feast for eight people (and two little boys: mine) to create the first-ever dinner party in the apartment was finally, after a very long, very difficult year in my life, beginning to feel like home.
Rescue mission: accomplished.
Kimberly Wicoff, thanks for having my back.
Now tell us: who's got yours?Share
part of the SparkPoint Studio Family
Shoutout to Deb Siegel who led the writing workshop that FINALLY got me writing ... and now working on my first book. And to Joy Rose, leader of motherhood movement. And to Maria Housden, whose writing Hannah's Gift and Unraveled inspires me every day.
SheWrites is a movement… thank you Kamy and the team for allowing me to be part of it! CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF US!!!
I want to thank Denise Heinrichs for having my back… for being a friend that goes deep, asks questions, challenges, supports and loves through the mess of life. Thanks Denise… you are a forever friend!!!
Today I wore three bracelets, each given me by a woman—friend, supporter, sister-writer (sometimes all of the above). Hooray for all of us. We couldn't do it alone and who would even want to. Thank you SheWrites for all you do for all of us.
As a new member, I feel a little silly congratulating you as if I know what I'm doing here! But this is very exciting. I can already see that SheWriters is a grower and goer. I'm proud to be in the first 10,000!
Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
What a wonderful forum for thanking the key women in our lives! As the mother of Kamy and Kimberly Wicoff, I am so blessed. If I ever need anything, I can turn to my darling daughters who physically live far away, but are just a phone call, email, or text away when I need their support or encouragement. Congratulations to all of you exceptional women who have made SheWrites such an exciting place to meet and share in the journey through the writers' world.
Congratulations and my thanks to those before me who have paved the way, shown direction and vision, and given so much of themselves to help all of us!
Congratulations!!!! So excited for you (and us!)!! My shout out, to the lovely Ms. Maria Ross of Red Slice (www.red-slice.com) - friend, colleague, and forever loyal back-getter - she rocks! Love you MR, Love SW...xoxo
10,000 strong. amazing. fabulous.
who has my back? hmmmm. let's see... marcia g. yerman for just about everything humanly possible, she always, always has my back. amy friedman, amy wallen, monica holloway, HOLLYE DEXTER, victoria zackheim, brooke warner, krista lyons ... did i say marcia g. yerman & hollye dexter.... julie & julie and MELODY & the list is long.
I'm new to this site, but already I LOVE it! Several women continue to support me througout life's journey, but there are two in particular I'd like to give a shout out to: My mom and Dr. Monifa LoveAsante, English professor and advisor. As I've taken risks and attempted to rearrange my life to nurture my writing, my mom has been consistantly supportive. And Dr. LoveAsante has been with me on the journey of completing my novel almost every step of the way, encouraging me and pushing me during the times when I've needed it. SHOUT OUT to them both!!
Wow! Who knew you were all here all along. 10,000 of us! Heather Gordon-Young here - brand new to She Writes and absolutely stunned at how supported it feels to be not only part of this amazing gathering women who write but to be the 10,000th woman! What an amazing welcome to know that 10,000 others "have my back". Thank you! This is a terrific place to belong.
How could I ever list them all?!!! My mom & my sister have always got my back! Sister, Kelly Brown, is an amazing talent (in many disciplines). Just one of those talents is as a graphic designer/illustrator. She designed my book cover. If you want a cover that truly conveys your precious interior, talk to her! http:/
And, I think it's also important to note that we all, here, are supporting each other. She Writes provides a beautiful platform for it. So, whether we are personally connected or not, we are collective in our support of one another! Go Girls! Woohoo!
Congratulations to She Writes for reaching such an important milestone! My shout out goes to all the healing women in my life--for all their incredible love, support and knowledge.
Who's got my back? The International Women's Writing Guild! Hannelore Hahn, founder and Exec Director. June Gould, Eunice Scarfe, Myra Shapiro, Jan Phillips, Susan Tiberghien, Lynne Barrett, Judy Huge, Pat Carr and many, many more phenomenal mentors, and the hundreds of women writers I've met and witnessed and written with over the past 26 years at the IWWG Summer Conferences and the Big Apple. The International Women's Writing Guild was here networking and supporting women for more than 30 years - over 4,000 women have been published as a result...including me! It took me 20 years to write my bestselling memoir, and they had my back the whole way. www.iwwg.com
My friend Mary, in Chicago, not only had my back, she just about carried me on hers when I was going through some rough times and no one else could hear me. In her honor, the female lead in my novel is named Mari.
Wow, I just arrived at 9:15 (mountain time) this morning! To quote the imitable Maxwell Smart - "Missed it by that much.
Sorry for the error, the blog with my thanks and shout out to all those who have been there for me is: http:/
Like everyone else, I am lucky to have many, many women who have had my back the last few years. I must shout out Marisol Simon as my first reader, editor, cheerleader. And also my agent Victoria Sanders who has been behind me every step of the way and has provided every kind of support to me.
Greetings to Heather Gordon Young! Hearty Congratulations to She Writes! I'm clearing my desk, and looking forward to more involvement with your/our group. My somebody's got my back comment, is a shoutout to friends from years gone by, some gone from my life, who have loved me and helped me during many rough patches. I can never repay them. Recently at my book's delayed (by fate's intervention & the recession) book launch, friends banded together and worked on my behalf to make the event a success. It was simply their goodness--& kindness that was so admirable that called them do this for me. I shout out thanks to them...one is Andi Pearson, educator, speaker and writer, and also a member of She Writes, who spoke at my event on June 26th. The post that mentions more women who have got my back.. this circle of friends & friendly people is on my blog at : http:/
Your description of settling into a home and having incomparable aid and support are a wonderful juxtapose to what this group does.
Congratulations on the 10,000 - here's to many more.
A shout out to Maria DiBattista - my savior over and again in life and literature and the one who introduced me to She Writes!
A big shout out to THREE of my writing sisters--Lynne Barrett (who encouraged me to become part of this), Paula Scardamalia, and Zita Christian!
So many wonderful, wise, powerful, amazing women! The first is my mother Selma Weinstein, who is not on any of the social media networks, so she won't see this. She has always been my most ardent cheerleader, telling me I could do and be anything I set my heart on and put work into. Her words of wisdom.."Walk in like you own the joint." have kept me company in every circumstance. It took many years for me to fully embody that idea, but at 51, I finally got it1
My cousin, Jody Weiner-Rosenblum who is on facebook:) has been my 'older and wiser cousin' all my life and has never failed to offer from the heart advice and a solid, listening ear when I have needed it. Her sense of silliness is a family trait and we have spent plenty of laughing 'til we could barely breathe times.
My friend and mentor, Yvonne Kaye, also on facebook has been a loving and sometiimes kickass presence for more than 20 years. Her humorous and irreverent guidance has kept me on track, as were her words "Discipline is freedom" when I most needed them.
To these WWW's Wild (or Wise) Wondrous Women....I love you BIG! <3 Bliss Mistress
A shout out to my older sister, Maggie (Aisha), and friend, who has survived abuse, divorce, and cancer, yet manages to have my back. My heroine!
I love SheWrites and the Salonniere.
A shout-out to my dear friend, and amazing writer, Kim Culbertson, who I always trust and who always has my back!