Light-skinned-ed Girl

Accolades or Affirmations: The Boost Needed to Get Back to Writing

I met a famous writer a few weeks ago who I admire greatly.  I was nervous for my friend to introduce me to her because well, . . . what if she wasn't like the person I knew from her writing?

But guess what? She was lovely.  She was warm and genuine and funny.  Before the party ended, I broke out my selfie-stick and we snapped a photo together.  And I walked away from the party just giddy.  

When I got home from the conference, I worked up the nerve to send a note to her and a copy of my book.  Truly, I had no expectation that she would read it.  But then . . . I got an email from her saying that she had just devoured the first 64 pages of my book but had to put it down only because grades were due the next day and she had work to do.  

Of course I was elated.  And I thought that was that.  Until . . . I received another email a few days later that read:

"Dear Heidi, Yes! You have restored my love of reading!  Thank you for this powerful novel." Signed Famous Writer.  

So, yeah. That happened.  And I'm not sure that I have totally processed it, or celebrated it, or took to heart what it means.

But for today at least, I'm sitting down with the manuscript again after another long hiatus and I'm keeping Famous Writer's words in front me so that I can keep reminding myself I can do this.  I can fill up that blank page.

 

Mixed Experience History Month 2015: Kick off!

It's May and so our celebration of Mixed Experience History Month begins! I established Mixed Experience History Month in 2007 on my personal blog Light-skinned-ed Girl as a way of claiming a history and a voice that I felt had been denied me. Part of the difficulty of claiming one's identity in the Mixed experience is that we have no history.  Our stories have been written out of the texts to conform to what society has allowed us to say about our racial identities.  And usually that has either silenced our experience and/or simplified them. It's easy to celebrate Mixed Experience History Month!  Just follow along with the posts I'll make each weekday in May profiling historical figures and events that relate to the Mixed experience.  This year I will be posting the blog profiles on my website The Mixed Experience in their entirety and in part on my personal blog with a click through link. If you have ideas of people I should profile please email me at heidi(at)heidiwdurrow.com.  And remember this is history so I'm only looking for people to profile who have passed away!  P.S. Anybody know who this year's badge features?--Heidi Durrow

Mixed Experience History Month is the annual blog post series created by The New York Times best-selling author Heidi Durrow celebrating the history of the Mixed experience. Established in 2007, Mixed Experience History Month is an effort to highlight the long history of folks and events involved in the Mixed experience.  Please look for archived profiles of people, places and events of the Mixed experience every weekday of May at Lightskinned-ed Girl, the blog!  Thanks for reading.  And check out some of the previous year's profiles: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,  2013, 2014.