Hurst Family News

I quit my job recently for a variety of reasons. One of which was health related. I have had some weird health things over the last few months. One concerning symptom is a buzzing in my tailbone, like a phone on vibrate that can be incessant and maddening but also severely worrisome. When I looked it up online, all signs pointed to cancer and then to multiple sclerosis (thanks google). I have a friend who is currently living with MBC, metastatic breast cancer, not curable- but treatable. The reality that cancer is a thing people my age live with is still a little unsettling. So I wasn't entirely ruling out those possibilities. But also, I know better than to trust the internet when it comes to matters of health so I also made an appointment with my doctor. I had hoped the doctor would say, "Oh yes, I've seen this before! It's probably just XYZ." But when I told the nurse, she seemed perplexed. Then, when I told my doctor she also seemed rather stumped. So we we...

Notes from YALSA18 in Salt Lake City Young Adult Library Services Association  Toshi Onyebuchi said he didn’t see himself in literature until 2014 reading Americanah by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie as a grown man. He said see himself reflected changed him. Now imagine what that can do for a teen.  "To see yourself in literature is validation of the deepest order." I can’t remember who said that quote and but it hits as the very core of literature and art and why I think it’s important to have a wide array of choices.  Toshi Onyebuchi is a great, charismatic speaker and a delight to listen to on the panel. Multiple times I heard him use his male privilege to boost the experiences of women of color. He’s a black man- so he doesn’t have the same amount of privilege that say a white man does- but he used his voice and his platform and it was a powerful example. He also began a reply with "One of the challenges I appreciate..." and my head spun for a minute.  Appreciate chal...