A Guest Post and a Free E-Book in Celebration of Friendship
Stephanie and I have two things to share today that we’re excited about…
First, in honor of both Valentine’s Day and International Book Giving Day, we’re offering our HerStories Project book for free as an e-book on Amazon for one day, today, Wednesday, February 10. Why not get a free e-book for yourself and buy one for your best friend, your sister, your mom, as a Valentine’s Day surprise?
We’re also proud to share a lovely story that our contributor Rose Townsend of the blog Naturally Educated shared with us about how her participation in the HerStories Project and our community of friends and writers led to an important realization about family and friendship:
Sometimes I worry about my daughter. At four, she is already rocking life. She is creative, funny, determined and has more confidence than I can sometimes muster as an adult. But there is one thing she doesn’t have. It is something I have always had. It is something I could not live without. My girls.
My twin cousins, my first two friends, were born six months before I arrived in this world. One year later, my sister was born, followed by more cousins and eight years later, another sister. I was set. All of these lovely ladies lived either in my house or less than a few blocks away. They were my greatest supporters, my confidants, my shoulders to cry on, my laugh until it hurts kind of friends for as long as I can remember. They still are. I even followed my twin cousins to college. And one sister followed soon after.
With two brothers and no female cousins nearby, I wonder what my daughter is going to do without these girls. I wonder, who will stay up all night with her at her first sleepover? Who will be her fellow performers in elaborate song and dance routines? Who will be driving as she sits in the passenger seat and sings her teenage heart out? Who will she call sobbing when she breaks up with her first boyfriend? Who will sit in the stall next to her in a college dorm as the effects of her first night of drinking are emptied from her stomach.
Who will tell her she looks great? Who will tell her not to wear that outfit again?
Who will she call when the stress of life, motherhood or marriage become too much to bear alone? Who will tell her she is doing fine? Who will call her out on her shit?
Who will encourage her to take risks, to learn new things, to push herself?
I worry. Deep female friendships were my fate. What is my daughter’s?
Some of these worries were eased as I read the essays in the HerStories Project anthology. These stories of friendship gave me hope. I learned that sisters are everywhere. They are in childhood neighborhoods, grade schools, colleges, workplaces, mom’s groups and parks. They are on the other end of the phone. They are on the computer screen. They are everywhere women are.
Because where there are women, there is empathy and support. There is safety and acceptance. There is a place to confess your darkness and a place to share your light. There is a place for tears of sadness and tears of joy, neither of which are questioned, but instinctively understood. There is honesty and inspiration. There is comfort. The kind of comfort one can only find with sisters. Not everyone is born with them, but the HerStories Project has made me believe that every woman will find her sisters.
I already love those beautiful souls who will be my daughter’s future sisters. I know they are out there, waiting to be her safe place. They don’t know it yet, but they are going to have the coolest sister around.
And finally, for all the women on your list (your friends, your mom, your sisters), don’t forget about our book, 
