Last week I had the privilege to present excerpts of my solo play, Tell Me Your Name, at a Latina Leadership Conference in Modesto for community college students, counselors and administrators. The discussion following – rich and meaningful -- how it feels when we have to alter our names or when others change them so it’s “easier” and more convenient for them.
Last year I was a presenter at a literary event with Sharline Chiang. The story she read about going to Burning Man was so funny and insightful, and so fully captured how so many of us are chameleons living in multiple worlds. Although I didn’t then know Sharline when I gave her a ride home after the event, in our conversation I learned that I did indeed know her work. I had read a piece she had written about post-partum depression that had gone viral, or somehow it had reached me. Here’s the link to Muttha Magazine, Sharline's essay so honest and heartbreaking, and yet full of hope.
I became an immediate fan. Here is another excellent piece that appeared in The Rumpus by Sharline about her name, informative and so profound.
Thanks Sharline.