A few weeks before embarking on our first pandemic cruise, I researched our tour options. Even though COVID levels were under control in St. Kitts, San Juan, and St. Thomas, we did not feel comfortable sitting on a cruise ship tour bus or being part of a large group. Unlike many other passengers who felt safest aboard the ship, we wanted to explore St. Kitt’s historic sites, only reachable by car or bus. 

PUL3E is an NFT (Non-Fungible Token) project founded by Emilie and her partner Andrew, creating unique digital art on the Ethereum blockchain. PUL3E have pledged to donate 5-10% of all proceeds raised from selling their NFT art to Heart Failure charities. Their 3D animated artwork is based on a 3D model of the human heart and true-to-life ECG patterns, showcasing a range of heart conditions and abnormalities.

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Oh, this book. I just finished The Part That Burns, an extraordinary, powerful, must-read memoir by Jeannine Ouellette. The Part That Burns epitomizes what Parul Sehgal, in a recent New Yorker article on trauma, wrote: "trauma becomes but one rung of a ladder. Climb it; what else will you see?" In The Part That Burns, Ouellette does, indeed, climb a ladder from trauma to healing.

We’ve turned the calendar page. As December has now come to a close, the lessons of the previous year hover between one year’s end and the other’s beginning. The old, the icky, the struggles, the issues of that past year shift into the focus of lessons learned and goals for a new year.

It is rare that my husband and I return to a House of Worship in a foreign destination for a second visit. After selecting a cruise itinerary with a stop in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, we immediately placed The Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas on our must-see list. Decades before digital images were in vogue, our young family trekked up the steep road to Synagogue Hill to visit this well-known synagogue with a sand floor, where we took a handful of pictures and then quickly departed with our four active sons. 

We have long loved the creative artistry of Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström. She's a magnificent writer and photographer (check out our early interview with her here), a compelling speaker (listen to her TED talk!), and has a new book out that I absolutely DEVOURED. 

Five months on since the Taliban took over power in Afghanistan, on August 30th, 2021, women still continue to fear for their lives and basic human rights. 

This article will focus on an overview of the Taliban’s actions during their takeover in Afghanistan. I will also highlight some of the brave women who continue to challenge the Taliban’s restrictions of their basic human rights.