READ THIS! THEN SEE THE MOVIE... BECAUSE WE CAN IGNORE A BOOK, OR A HULU SHOW BUT WE CAN'T IGNORE THE REAL STRUGGLES THAT WOMEN ENDURE AT THE HANDS OF LEGISLATORS THAT DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE OR RESPECT A WOMEN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE.

and remember... 

READ UP

I have never been big on war movies, or books about weapons, planes, military experiences or the likes, but I saw this book at Barnes and Noble earlier this spring and it spoke to me, coaxing me to buy it and to explore the pages. Within the current climate I am actively in search of any of all things that will unlock new knowledge. I want to drink in the experiences of other Americans, other humans, I want to know their lives and build empathy for their struggles. 2017 has been a mental health nightmare for me but if anything is keeping me a float it is the new friends that I am able to know through the pages of books. There is no social anxiety in meeting these new people through their written stories, there is no getting dressed and leaving the house, there is no worrying about the facial reactions that I might have - in essence my books are friends with literary benefits.

So Mary Jennings Hegar and I are unlikely friends but I could not be more glad that I picked up her story. I flew through the book with voracity! Normally I am reading at least three books at a time (because #AdultADD) but once I picked this one up I basically didn't put it down until it was finished. The story hit nerves, produced tears and empowered my soul. I thank her for writing it, I thank the universe for putting it in my path and I urge you to pick it up. SHOOT LIKE A GIRL would be a great gift for a friend joining up, a retired vet or anyone who thinks that the military and the lives of it's soldiers doesn't have anything to do with them. Knowing human's experiences, learning about their motivations, triumphs, failures and what makes them tick is key to building bridges and bringing this country back together.

I don't like to give away a lot about the books I encourage others to read, I like to share my experience, the way it made me feel in hopes that someone else will want to explore it but here is a little nugget of why MJH's writing was so relatable to me and an example of the kinds of powerful sharing that she does in this autobiographical book. 

It's an intense two and a half chapters that lead up to the following sentence, 
"I would never again let someone convince me he could do whatever he wanted to my body against my will. I was truly free."  Jennings and I are just two girls who might not have anything else in common but this, we both experienced turning points in our lives that symbolize the moment of conscious reality that our bodies shouldn't be sacrificial.

​

MJH is a woman who overcame countless obstacles in her dream towards becoming a pilot, she persisted and used her strength for so much good. I aspire to be as strong as her, I applaud that even after an epic career so chose to use her experiences to enhance the future for females serving our country. This book, as unlikely as the content was to resonate with me, touched a special part of my heart and I will forever feel a kindred connection to MJH.

much love and reading, @katiapriceless

My ever-present anxiety and my newly developing depression has resulted, lately, in a crazy media intake. I'm talking hours upon hours of nothing but show bingeing, reading (magazines, books, online articles), Twitter, Instagram, cable news, listening to podcasts and NPR One and Audiobooks - all I've been doing is consuming written and recorded content. 

And in an effort to balance my intake and output I need to write and inform you about my intense feelings about specific pieces of this crazily consumed content.\

I am now about to binge on reviews, thoughts, recommendations and random rants about the stuff that my brain is trying to wrap itself around. Because if there is one thing that I am certain about in 2017 it's that we need to keep thinking. We need our brains more than anything, we need deep thought, difficult conversations and to wrestle with our roles and the ideas that drive our country.

Stay tuned. I am about to blow this site up with all of the things that have been working out my mind; some of this content is keeping me informed, some of it is keeping me sane and some of it is even giving me much needed hope. Please share it, please mull over the ideas and please read (if not this stuff than other stuff), support independent journalism, buy newspapers and don't get your media content from just one place. Democracy is what happened between elections and civilians need to keep themselves armed with relevant, helpful, diverse content.