Hope & Grief: Edit Letter and TOC

The Minnesota Women’s Press editorial board met for its discussion of story angles for this magazine issue a few days after the election results were in. One member of the board is a college teacher, whose students are featured in the Tapestry collection this month. She said one classroom discussion focused on how to even define what hope is.

Board members speculated that hope might be about how we find joy. Or how we build passion for change. Or where we find power in community. We talked about whether hope is simply avoiding feeling jaded and cynical — i.e., hopeless — as the world seems to slide into a fascination with authoritarian leadership. One board member wondered if we should call this month’s topic “Resilient Hope.”

Another said we should forget hope and call it stubbornness to persevere.

Board member Priscilla Trinh writes about the movement to shift from individual efforts to community-oriented solidarity, “nurturing alternative economies to make the current ones obsolete.”

Cheyenne Wilson shares how she turned trauma from sexual assault into a therapeutic process, writing a comprehensive guide for people about rape myths and resources to navigate the healing and potential legal process. This story is part of our renewed coverage in 2025 about gender-based violence.

Anne Winkler-Morey writes about her experiences “aging on the run,” having retired and sold everything she owned in Minnesota. She is now a worldwide traveler who continues her exploration of how other people live.

We also feature the Twigger village people of central Minnesota. They are a perfect way to kick off our overarching theme of 2025 — How to Create the Village — and will be featured in our new “Books, Arts & Events” newsletter (womenspress.com/subscribe).

Grief & Hope

We continue to need to tighten our budget. We have already limited our magazine page count. This month we are downsizing our office space and reducing the number of free distribution sites (previously 420).

One-third of print media platforms have closed over the past 20 years; we are not safe from that fate, but we are part of a wonderful village. Print and online advertisers, underwriters, Badass members, magazine subscribers, donors, and distribution site partners have kept the unique Minnesota Women’s Press first-person storytelling alive since April 1985.

The good news is that we have expanding relationships statewide, with conversations that will fuel upcoming stories and membership revenue. On January 12, three women in this month’s issue will speak at First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis about Hope & Grief. We also are working with partners to grow our coverage designed to change narratives about gender-based violence.

If you are not in the village yet, visit womenspress.com/donate or reach out to ads@womenspress.com. Our monthly Badass members will be invited to a 40th anniversary celebration on May 1.
If you have thoughts to share about how you plan in 2025 to create hope — and stubbornly, actively, or resiliently persevere — send them to me at editor@womenspress.com. I will add them to our online Tapestry section.

“Active Hope is a readiness to discover the strengths in ourselves and in others; a readiness to discover the reasons for hope and the occasions for love.”
— Joanna Macy

Politics — Lessons from the Scene of a Coup

Ecolution — Growing My Own Solidarity Economy

Adventure — Aging on the Run

Art of Living — The Twiggers of Central Minnesota

Tapestry — Where We Find Hope Among Grief

Tapestry II — Views from St. Kate’s Students

Gender-Based Violence — Creating Hope After Sexual Assault

Thoughts — Listening to the Whispers

Camp — Belts, Battles, and Balance: How Karate Shaped Who I Am Today

Pets — Decades Working With Shelter Animals

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