July 2025: How's Hanna?
Hello dear folks,
This is Marc writing, knowing it has been more than three months since we caught you up on the big question: “How is Hanna?” That’s the whole job of this update. People liked the video update we made in March, so we thought we would repeat the recipe.
This was recorded when our TLC Group gathered this Monday. TLC is a subset of the Careforce who meet every Monday to talk about logistics, technology, institutions, fundraising, decision-making,… all details. This week the conversation included Lizzie Anderson, Michelle King, Erika “Goldie” Kestenberg, Marin LaMartina, Seth Payne, Ti Wilhelm, Hanna, and myself. (You’ll recognize Marin in the video because she’s the one standing off-camera.)
Part 1: How is Hanna?
This update comes in two parts. This first is our response to the question, “How would you describe Hanna’s current season—physically, her mood, her spirit, her days?
Michelle mentioned documentary called Eat Your Catfish. It is a remarkable, Emmy-winning film, and has SO many parallels with Hanna and all of us around her. Here’s a page where you can see a description and a trailer. It’s available to rent on Vimeo (I’m not sure if this will work outside the US. South Africans, if you find a better link maybe put it in the comments?).
Part 2: How are the caregivers?
People often ask how Hanna is doing. And often they follow with, “And how are YOU?” I posed this question to the same group, and the conversation quickly expanded….
There’s a reference in that conversation to a woman named Joanna Macy. If you don’t already know about her, here’s her web site. There are many videos with her and about her, and I heartily recommend her name as the seed for a web and video surfing session.
Coming Soon...
Seth makes this comment in the first video: “ It feels like there are things that are exciting that are happening….” You might be thinking, “Really? Say more!” We will, we will. I don’t mean to leave you hanging—I’ll post another update within a week that will catch you up on The Exciting Things.
Closing with Andrea Gibson
This week the poet Andrea Gibson moved on from this life. If you don’t know them, that’s another invitation into a wonderful web surfing session.
Here is a poem by Andrea that exploded in popularity this week. I’ll just link to her site, where you can read the poem-letter or listen to her reading it to you.
I’ll close with another from Andrea. Wishing you great spaciousness to hold all you carry,
Marc
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Good Grief, by Andrea Gibson
Let your
heart break
so your spirit
doesn’t.