By: Lauren Jankowski I’ve always been a storyteller. Nothing gives me greater joy than crafting a story. Writing is not something I consciously chose to do, but rather it’s something I have to do. Growing up, I was most comfortable and happy when I was lost in a book. By the time I reached high […]
A Ghost that Haunts Me
By: Lauren Jankowski Not that long ago, I was reviewing some work and got distracted by a common element that turns up in just about every story I’ve written: separated siblings. It struck me because although this was completely unintentional, it clearly reflects an important, but still unknown, part of my life. As I’ve previously […]
National Adoption Month: Mother
Siblings in All but Blood
By: Lauren Jankowski He’s the light-haired, dark-eyed Swede. I’m the dark-haired, bright-eyed Irish/Cherokee mutt. To look at us, nobody would guess that we were related in any way, much less siblings. We look nothing alike. When I was in elementary school, I frequently had people tell me that it must be so much easier for […]
Constructing a Family
By Lauren Jankowski Recently I led a discussion in my Gender and Culture class on a chapter from “Families We Choose” by Kath Weston. The chapter was entitled “Exiles from Kinship” and it was about how the Bay Area gay and lesbian community began constructing their own families in the 80s. These created families challenged […]
An Interview with Lauren Jankowski
Surviving the Nightmare
SlutWalks
By: Lauren Jankowski According to RAINN: Each year, there are about 213,000 victims of sexual assault. Recently, hundreds of people marched the streets of Chicago in protest of the victim-blaming that women are burdened with when it comes to the issue of rape and sexual violence. The protest was in response to a Toronto police […]
My Visit to the Cradle
Stories for Adopted Children
By Lauren Jankowski I’ve always been logical to a fault, even as a child. Perhaps this is why I never particularly enjoyed stories that were written specifically for adopted children. To me, they just seemed too straightforward: “Look. This character is also adopted. See, s/he is just like you.” Yeah, and…? Even the beautifully illustrated […]