Woman. Warrior. Writer. 9-23
Sonora Jha Vol. 4 No. 10 September 10, 2023
How did you come to author your life?
I didn’t know it for years, but writing was a way for me to dive into my lived experience and live it again at another level, as a more evolved version of myself. Whether I wrote as a journalist or academic or an essayist and novelist, the written word told me truths I hadn’t quite encountered in the actual living of my days. When I wrote my own story, in my memoir, I thought I was doing it to share myself with others (thoughts on feminist motherhood), but it brought me into a sisterhood and motherhood with myself. Writing became a re-parenting and a love letter to the girl I was, the woman I am, the elder I will be.
Sonora Jha is the author of the novels The Laughter (2023) and Foreign (2013) and the memoir How to Raise A Feminist Son (2021). Sonora was formerly a journalist covering crime, politics, and culture for the Times of India and for East Magazine, Singapore. She moved to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Political Communication. She is a professor of journalism at Seattle University, and her essays and public appearances have featured in The New York Times, on BBC, and in several anthologies.
Moms of sons…read her book about raising a feminist son. When I read it I felt good knowing that there was someone else out there asking these questions and trying to figure it all out. As an Asian American single mom too I felt seen and appreciated her book.
WRITING
Excited that my piece Sports Mom Odyssey is up at The Hawai’i Review of Books!
I wrote this two years ago, post pandemic. Grateful to THROB founder and editor Don Wallace (former football player, surfer, writer) for putting it out there.
TEACHING and WORKSHOP
A few spots open-gender for one on one writing coaching. Please email me at writer@drstephaniehan.com and let’s jump on a call and see if I can help you.
My friend and colleague, Darien Gee is a master at micro prose and teaches monthly workshops via Zoom. Her next one is on September 17, 2023 (Sunday), from 1:00-2:30 pm PST. See all of her workshops here: https://writer-ish.com/micro-memoir-workshops-2023-online-darien-gee/. She’s offering $15 off one workshop using code SH15 through the end of the year.
NEWS and OPPORTUNITIES
Iris Kim (Asian/American WCWW; WCWW) is a Gold House Journalism Accelerator fellow
Lilly Nguyen (Asian/American WCWW; Intersectionality) has work — Rotting Fruit, published in Tahoma Literary Review
Mindy Pennybacker, author of Surfing Sisterhood Hawai’i has an article about surfing in The Atlantic Monthly!
If you have 45 seconds of instrumental music that you would like played on The Conversation on Hawai’i Public Radio—send me your spotify link!
THURSDAYS are a ZOOM writing session from 6-7AM. Feel free to join!
Former WWW featured authors, guest authors to class, workshop alum, and anyone who has appeared on my syllabus, please submit info so I can support your work.
INTERVIEWS
The story featuring Kumu Hula Maelia Lobenstein Carter of Ka Pā Hula o Kauanoe o Waʻahila details her leadership journey. I consider her to be one of my most important teachers. Kumu Hula provide a moral compass for those in Hawai’i. Hula is a spiritual and creative practice and is profoundly connected to the land and water. Kumu Hula discusses family, culture and starting Hawaiian studies scholarship fund
MERCH
Grab a T-shirt. Support the Woman. Warrior. Writer. Scholarship Fund.
HEALTH
I learned this Goldfish exercise from Darin Kawazoe. This comes from papers of his Japanese grandfather that are now being translated. The trick is to clasp fingers behind head and to keep your neck and head completely relaxed as you move your elbows—fluttering them and your legs like the tail of a goldfish. Your core is engaged. My ADHD brain means I get bored doing the same exercise over and over, so I always need new ways to exercise and luckily Darin has a lot of different ones. After I was diagnosed with osteoperosis Darin helped me with my walk and overall health. I’m proud to say that my bone density score the past few years has stabilized. Try The Goldfish!
MAUI
ISule Gordon and Adi Gordon and their family of three girls under age six lost everything in the Maui Fires. Here is their story below along with their Go Fund Me.
Aloha,
Steph