Prosody

During 2020 and 2021, I (like many others) took a lot of walks. Usually I walked alone, or sometimes with my daughters. A few times, I took walks with friends. One day, after walking with a friend who happens to be one of my favorite walking partners, I kept reflecting on our conversation long after the walk.

Since it was during the COVID era, I also dabbled in more creative writing than I had in several years. The walk, plus the reflection, plus the dabbling resulted in a publication that just came out a few weeks ago.

Here’s the citation: Williamson Sullenberger, S. (2024). Prosody. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 30(2), 16–17. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/2040 It is an open access journal so it is free for anyone to download and read.

In the length of time between submission, acceptance, and publication, I grew unhappy with the writing or, more accurately, the piece itself and what it represents. I feel like the world hasn’t changed very much since then, with respect to what mothers have to worry about for their children. And I remain a very imperfect ally.

But every day, I get a chance to make different choices and take different actions.

Here’s to more walks with friends, more praxis (reflection on action) and more action (action of the John Lewis “good trouble” and Bayard Rustin’s call for “angelic troublemakers” in every community.)