Welcome to the Stone Soup Weekly Digest! This is where I share what I'm up to and some of my favorite things from around the internet. Subscribe to Stone Soup to get this in your inbox every week.

Most of this week’s digest is not going to be about the horrors of war. This first section will be. If you need help managing your reaction to exposure to this subject and subjects like it, especially on social media, here’s a helpful image-free resource based on Trust & Safety best practices. This resource is oriented toward people who must engage with violent and traumatizing content as part of their work. Bearing witness can be important, but if you can’t cope with bearing witness, then you can’t help people who are truly hurting when they need you. It's okay to take the time to learn how to engage with material that upsets you. 

In general, I am committed to learning and sharing accurate information. This is part of why I generally don’t comment on humanitarian crises immediately as they unfold—I find that my energy is better spent developing an accurate understanding, rather than worrying about how I should word a social media post. I also try to recognize when I lack both the knowledge and the skill to be able to articulate anything worthwhile. There are times, like now, when I feel that none of my emotions or thoughts will add anything but noise.

That said, I am committed to sharing verified resources in this newsletter—so you, who are currently reading this, will have a better chance of directing your efforts where help is needed. It’s difficult right now to get a sense of where our efforts will be most helpful to those who are suffering, especially as the situation evolves—I’m writing this a full day before you’re reading it, and a lot has probably happened in the meantime. That said, here are some things you can do in an effort to help prevent further suffering. 

Resources for others 

• Donate to the Red Cross. As a dear friend told me yesterday when I expressed a feeling of helplessness, this is almost always a good move when you’re not sure how to help.
• Donate to Doctors Without Borders, who are working to facilitate the movement of medical supplies and staff.
• Get involved with PCRF, an organization that provides quality medical care to children throughout the Middle East regardless of nationality, religious or political affiliation.
• Connect with Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization committed to the liberation of all people. They’re organizing phone banks that will allow you to turn your rage and grief into meaningful, strategic action.

Resources for you

• I wasn’t joking above when I said you need to learn to engage with horrifying material if you’re going to help those who are suffering. Taking the time to attend to this isn’t self-centering or weak—it’s a matter of making yourself more useful, and it’s a skill that will serve you in the long term. Here’s that link again.
• Strengthen your media literacy. If you are consuming a huge amount of new, emotionally intense information, you need skills to parse that information into understanding. This isn’t a matter of simply being smart—it takes active critical engagement. Click here to download a pdf of some media literacy basics, dive into some deeper questions here, and continue learning fundamental skills of media literacy here.
• Attend to your nervous system. You’re not meant to be able to handle situations like this one well. That’s the whole point of war. Take care of yourself so you can take care of others. Here’s an old Stone Soup post that rounds up some tips for taking care of yourself when your nervous system is screaming at you. This is a starting point, not the finish line—self-care is the foundation you build on.

I’ll add more verified resources to this post if and when they become available. In the meantime, as always: Care for yourself and the people around you. Believe that the world can be better than it is now. Never give up.

–gailey

The Digest

Half Price Books Workers are Unionizing!

I’ve recently been in touch with unionized workers at Half Price Books, the largest family-owned bookstore chain in America. They’re in the process of negotiating their first contract and are meeting immense resistance at the bargaining table—including, per union leadership, a direct admission from the company that Half Price can afford to raise employee wages but simply will not do it.

All workers deserve fair compensation for their labor. Booksellers are responsible for spreading literacy, connecting readers with books, and—more and more often—advocating for books that are subject to censorship. You can support the Half Price Books union by sending an email to the CEO of HPB and signing this petition.

Personal Canons Cookbook Highlight: Innocuous Comments on Muffins

An Ottawa teacher by day, Brandon Crilly has been previously published by Daily Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, Fusion Fragment, Haven Spec, and other markets. His debut fantasy novel Catalyst was published by Atthis Arts in October 2022, followed shortly by his first games publication, Bestiarium Vocabulum, from Fat Goblin Games. He’s also an Aurora Award-winning podcaster, conference organizer for Can*Con, and regularly has too many TTRPG interests than he could ever fit into his schedule.

His essay on recovering from abuse while learning to master a recipe is accompanied by a recipe for Jelly Donut Muffins.

Read Innocuous Comments on Muffins.

I’m Reading: The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

Leslie Bruin is assigned to the backwoods township of Spar Creek by the Frontier Nursing Service, under its usual mandate: vaccinate the flock, birth babies, and weather the judgements of churchy locals who look at him and see a failed woman. Forged in the fires of the Western Front and reborn in the cafes of Paris, Leslie believes he can handle whatever is thrown at him—but Spar Creek holds a darkness beyond his nightmares.

Something ugly festers within the local congregation, and its malice has focused on a young person they insist is an unruly tomboy who must be brought to heel. Violence is bubbling when Leslie arrives, ready to spill over, and he'll have to act fast if he intends to be of use. But the hills enfolding Spar Creek have a mind of their own, and the woods are haunted in ways Leslie does not understand.

Barnes & Noble | Bad River Website | Local Library | Find an Indie Bookstore

Featured New Release: Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg

You know that old saying, “if we are still single when we’re 35, we should get married?” Well, Maggie Vine made that vow with two different people, at two very different stages of her life.

And they both showed up.

Maggie Vine’s life is going extra-medium. At 35 she’s pursuing her dreams of being a singer and being a mother—though neither is successfully panning out. So when Garrett Scholl—stifled hedge fund manager by day but electrifying aspiring rock singer by night—comes to her 35th birthday party with the intention to kiss Maggie senseless, it feels like one piece might click into place. Except he’s engaged to someone else, and Maggie knows she won’t fit into the cookie-cutter life he’s building for himself.

Enter Asher Reyes. Her first boyfriend from summer camp, turned into heartthrob actor, he’s lived a successful yet private life ever since he got famous. When a career-changing opportunity is presented to Maggie after her reconnection with Asher, it feels like everything—music, love, family—will fall into place. But her past won’t let her move on without a fight.

Barnes & Noble | Bad River Website | Local Library | Find an Indie Bookstore