Dear Cosmos Community,
That’s why this Care Package is arriving on Thursday! I have been sick for four days, and I am refraining from making this a post about how bad COVID is because we’ve been hearing that for over two years now. I know that it’s different for everyone, but either I am a baby and cannot stand being sick, or “mild” COVID is a misnomer. It has been a strange, all invasive kind of illness, neglecting no part of my body, perhaps magnified in its severity by my fears coming true. I have COVID.
I thought a lot about how I got it (insert self-blame), fended off questions from family and friends about how I got it, because there is a feeling of “it’s my fault.” This is a pattern of mine, obsessing about the how, in order to make the fact of the matter sensible. The truth is I don’t know how I got it. It is a deeply unsatisfying truth, but it is all I have
My brain is still foggy, drifting, but I couldn’t tell you where to. A place where thoughts float around but I don’t have the energy to catch them. I am grateful for health insurance, Nyquil, Netflix, and sugar-free cough drops, and all the privileges associated with having access to these ways to care for myself. I ask for forgiveness if this isn’t the most polished letter. I hope to write to you again next week in better health and spirits. Thank you, as always, for reading <3
Karen
Update: We’re just $100 away from reaching our goal of $1000 to distribute to the community in May. We just need a few more subscribers!!
**NEW** The next 29 paid annual subscribers will get a special “care package” designed just for you!! For 1 week only: New subs *ALSO* get a choice of one of the books below included in your new subscriber gift! Subscribe by April 28 to qualify :)
To tell you all about our Care Fund plans for May, please welcome Cosmos Care Fund Director Renee W. She is the heart behind this special gift for new subscribers :)
Dear Care Package Subscribers,
I love all kinds of soup noodles: beef noodle soup, pho, ramen, udon….. The list goes on!
Growing up in a Cantonese household, my mom always cooked for me the staples: steamed fish with boiled lettuce & egg noodles. It was the perfect combo – healthy, easy and fast to cook with just a few simple ingredients. It was always just the right consistency of al dente. Because she knew I loved it, she cooked it for me all the time.
This was just one of the infinite ways she displayed her love for me as a mother. My mom was the closest person to me. Last year, I temporarily moved from SF to Hong Kong after I found out about her unexpected illness. No matter how hard I tried to hold on, I lost her 6 months later.
In my grief today, I find moments of peace when I see remnants of her love – like soupy Asian noodles. Eating the food reminds me of my heritage and how true she stayed to her roots even after immigrating to America 35+ years ago. It also reminds me of how I should embrace my identity as an Asian American woman, especially in these times.
I subscribed to The Cosmos to learn more about how to embrace my upbringing as a third-culture kid, along with so many other women out there. I became a paid subscriber to The Care Package and was so moved by the stories, events, ideas and creative inspos that arrived in my mailbox weekly. I also loved that my subscription supported The Care Fund, a creative aid fund that distributes micro-grants to Asian women storytelling projects.
I saw the potential in this letter, especially The Care Fund, and wanted to support it as much as I could. That’s why I started working on The Care Fund, and I’m so excited to grow our impact in helping Asian women creatives, storytellers, and entrepreneurs get their projects out into the world!!
Next month (APHAM!) we distribute our 2nd CARE FUND! Our dream is to raise $1000 to support Asian women creators. There are no strings attached for this funding, and we do not require any credentials or a portfolio — this is one of the only grants designed to make it easy to get funded, with a distinct focus on our community.
We’re just $100 away from our goal. With your help we can reach our goal by May 1!! You can subscribe today below, donate subscriptions, or gift a subscription. You can also make a one-time Venmo donation to @jointhecosmos.
To thank you for your support, we’re gifting the next 29 *NEW* annual subscribers a “Care Package” we designed from our hearts to yours:
a soup noodle keychain in honor of my mother’s love
2 holographic stickers (“FUND ASIAN WOMEN CREATORS” & “STORIES MATTER”), designed by Cosmos Creative Director Linh-Yen Hoang!
AND FOR ONE WEEK ONLY, all new paid annual subscribers ALSO get a choice of one of these 4 books from our partner Penguin RandomHouse. Subscribe by April 28 — book quantities limited :)
Cooking at Home by David Chang & Priya Krishna (SIGNED COPY!!!).
David Chang came up as a chef in kitchens where you had to do everything the hard way. But his mother, one of the best cooks he knows, never cooked like that. Nor did food writer Priya Krishna’s mom. So Dave and Priya set out to think through the smartest, fastest, least meticulous, most delicious, absolutely imperfect ways to cook.
Moving between modern-day London and revolutionary Iran, The Mismatch is a gorgeously written coming-of-age story that follows a young woman as she finds love in a most unexpected place, and a path in life amid two different cultures.
A witty, moving, piercingly insightful new novel about a marvelously complicated woman who can’t be anyone but herself, from the award-winning author of Chemistry
See No Stranger: A MEMOIR AND MANIFESTO OF REVOLUTIONARY LOVE by Valerie Kaur
How do we love in a time of rage? How do we fix a broken world while not breaking ourselves? Valarie Kaur—renowned Sikh activist, filmmaker, and civil rights lawyer—describes revolutionary love as the call of our time, a radical, joyful practice that extends in three directions: to others, to our opponents, and to ourselves. It enjoins us to see no stranger but instead look at others and say: You are part of me I do not yet know. Starting from that place of wonder, the world begins to change: It is a practice that can transform a relationship, a community, a culture, even a nation.
Book descriptions provided by Penguin RandomHouse.
Gift and donation subscriptions are eligible for the book + new subscriber gift :)
This week’s Community Reading Series at Yu and Me Books was postponed since I got COVID. We are currently rescheduling, stay tuned :)
⚡CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS⚡ We're looking for a team of 3-4 COMMUNITY READERS for our next Care Fund distribution in May. You will help decide who gets the grant $$!
Must be available from May 11- 18 for reading and voting on Care Fund applications!
If you are interested, get the deets and sign up below! Deadline to sign up is 11:59 PM PT this Fri April 22!
Cosmos Book Club x AAWW: A Tiny Upward Shove w/ Melissa Chadburn
April 20 | 7 PM ET | VIRTUAL
Cosmos Book Club and Asian American Writers’ Workshop are partnering to host a celebration of acclaimed writer and activist Melissa Chadburn’s debut novel, A Tiny Upward Shove!
In this highly anticipated debut, Melissa charts the heartbreaking journeys of two of society’s castoffs as they make their way to each other and their roles as criminal and victim. What does it mean to be on the brink? When are those moments that change not only our lives but our very selves? And how, in this impossible world, full of cruelty and negligence, can we rouse ourselves toward mercy?
A round-up of ways to support and be in community! 💜
🔵 𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗔𝗡 𝗩𝗨𝗢𝗡𝗚 × 𝗕Ạ𝗡 𝗕È 🔵
Sunday, April 24th
2pm–4pm
187 Sackett St, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York
𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗗, 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦, &̳ 𝗙𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗥 — Poet laureate/G.O.A.T./người đẹp @ocean_vuong will be at Bạn Bè! Swing by for xôi, bánh, cà rem, and chè, all the while helping 𝗕Ạ𝗡 𝗕È become the first Vietnamese Bakery in NYC! They’re raising $48K — come out to the event or donate to their GoFundMe here :)
AANHPI Women Rising — Applications are still open for folks in the Midwest and Colorado!
AANHPI Women Rising empowers AANHPI women to run for office, influence policy decisions, and create more intersectional and inclusive communities at every level of our democracy. Consisting of a two-and-a-half day in-person training, plus virtual coaching and an exclusive webinar series, this unique training program was created for AANHPI women who want change. As members of this inaugural cohort, participants will learn how to own their authentic stories and leadership skills, address anti-Asian hate, grow their power, and transform our democracy.
Cut Fruit Collective x Chinatown Pretty in Oakland, CA
Our friends at Cut Fruit Collective are teaming up with Chinatown Pretty @chinatownpretty and the Oakland Chinatown Oral History Project on a special photo exhibit of Oakland Chinatown elders on May 1! You can sign up for the entire day of festivities in Lincoln Square Park here :)
Permission to Come Home Book Talk at Yu and Me Books
This is going to be a full house, we already know it!!!!! We aren’t seeing any tickets so show up early :)