May you have happiness, joy, & peace today
Happy Mother’s Day!
To all of the wonderful Mothers out there, I hope you’re having a beautifully relaxing and enjoyable day with your loved ones!
I’m having a fantastic time celebrating with my family & two young kids, and I wanted to wish the same for you.
I also wanted to take this time to address any of you who may not be celebrating today. Perhaps your mother’s passed, or maybe your mother didn’t mother you the way that you deserved, so today is especially hard for you.
Whatever your circumstances might be, if you are feeling down today, please know that I am thinking of you.
And sending you this gentle reminder that mothers are more than the women who’ve given birth to us. Mothers are everywhere.
Your friends may be the ones who mother you, with their caring and uplifting spirit. Or, it may be a cousin, an aunt, or an older woman in your life. Indeed, the beautifully nurturing and supportive spirit of a “Mother” can be expressed by anyone, even by the men in our lives. No matter who it is, I hope you can be in their presence and feel their nurturing spirit embracing you today.
I strongly believe that, while mothers are amazing, anyone can be the mother we deserve. Especially us, when we mother ourselves.
I wish you love today and, to that end, I share the following with you. I hope it brings you peace.
From my conversation with Priya, linked below:
⭐️Question⭐️
The epigraph, “Family is defined by choice, not by birth or blood. Family is worth fighting for,” sits at the very front of the book like a thesis. Did that line come to you early, or did you find it only after the story had already told you what it was about?
When I started writing THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES, I knew I wanted to write a science fiction story that was full of supernatural powers that defy time but, more than that, I wanted it to be a story about what remains true no matter how much time passes: the tremendous power of love to shape or break us.
I was inspired to write this epigraph because of the way we come to define our sense of Self: based on the private relationship we develop with ourselves, and the relationships that we forge in community with others, whether they are part of our family or not.
If we’re lucky, we’re raised with parents and maybe siblings and extended relatives who give us a sense of belonging, acceptance, and understanding. They may be the mirror that allows us to see our true, Authentic Self, and their love can power us forward, to give us the strength to grow into who we are meant to be. They have the capacity to teach us how to accept, respect, love, and cherish ourselves in the way that we all deserve.
Some people, like my main character, Jai, are lucky enough to have had that experience with their birth family, but Jai suffers tremendously in other ways. And not everyone enjoys a close relationship with their birth family at all. We see that in the lives that the other characters experience. They feel a sense of disconnection from themselves and others. They don’t feel safe or securely attached to other people because that was not what was modeled to them in their own upbringing. Or, they were and are deeply loved by their family and friends, but trauma scarred them.
Ultimately, I hope readers can see some part of themselves reflected in these characters, because all of us can feel incomplete or somehow broken. I know I am not immune and, sadly, I think that is one of the biggest challenges that we face in our world right now: a sense of disconnection from ourselves and from each other. We’re urged to wear a mask and perform perfectly. We’re expected to be infallible when no one is. It gives us this haunting sense of discomfort. Like no matter how hard we try, we won’t be “good enough.” That’s a problem when we all need and deserve to feel like we’re truly seen, accepted, and loved for who we are. Without that, we risk turning our pain inward or, even worse, outward.
THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES explores the potential choices we might make, and invites us to see that there’s still hope:
It can feel like it’s “just me,” but it never is. We are not alone in our suffering. We don’t have to struggle all on our own.
And we’re not limited to the family in which we were born. We can find the right people and, when we do, we can strengthen our resolve, find the courage we need to fight, and trust in others because they’ve given us the love we need to not only survive, but thrive.
When the world’s breaking and everything feels hopeless, I try to remind myself that we can be the light to save each other. Together, we can co-create the peace our world needs.
Because our humanity is what makes us a family. And that family is worth fighting for.
So, here’s to having a very happy Mother’s Day!
From the Mother in me to the Mother in each of you,
Marisa
If you’d like to read the entire conversation, here’s Priya’s amazing interview, full of her fun & insightful questions for me, and Priya’s beautiful reflection about my OBSIDIAN series.
🧠🎨The Mother in Me🎨🧠
🧠🎨honors & respects the Mother in each of You,🎨🧠
Marisa
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