Essays, Essays Archive, From the Editors
Published on August 4, 2016

in the throws of happiness

By Sherisa de Groot

Raising Mothers THANK YOU One year ago on July 29, I posted my very first photo to my Raising Mothers Instagram page, thus starting this journey to more. More exploration, more thought, more community, more love. Over time you have helped me build this space brick by brick with the strongest foundation. You’ve shown up and read and commented and made room for one another. Over 80 essays and interviews and literary works later, and this is just the start.

To each and every one of our readers: thank you. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for helping us flourish. Thank you for opening your hearts and minds. Thank you for sharing our words all over the internet. It’s your willingness to be present and read every piece our writers offer up that creates these ties to our shared sisterhood and bonds us together, despite the ugliness of this world and what it might try to offer us.

To all of our contributors: you. You are the other part of this equation. Without you, this site wouldn’t exist the way it does. I have deep admiration for your honesty and your trust in me. I thank you for joining this community and helping it grow. It’s your willingness to show up month after month, story after story, that makes Raising Mothers this sacred and unique space.

I cannot fully express what you all mean to me. I’m both humbled and high from the love. July 29 is when the first post went out on Instagram. August 9 is when the first essay went live on this site. We are halfway through our first anniversary week.

Each year from now on will be holding a “pay what you can” pledge drive. Help keep this place abundant and full of new amazing opportunities for us to connect better. This year I am asking if you have ever connected to the work offered here, found your own untold stories echoed be it in word or photo, that you give to this mission. Continue to make Raising Mothers the place where you hear your own voice.

You can pay what you can, but we’re asking for a ceremonial pledge of $1/month via Patreon
If you’d like another option for donating, take a look here.

We have plenty of other ways that you can help, too. Simply sharing this site with friends and family or signing up for our newsletter or following us on Facebook or Instagram does wonders as well.

With deep love and gratitude,
Sherisa de Groot

Raising Mothers is a free online literary magazine for femmes and NBPOC parents of color. We center the work of the marginalized in our effort to normalize our stories and existence on the web, and in life.     

Filed under: Essays, Essays Archive, From the Editors

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Sherisa de Groot (she/her) is a writer, community builder, and founder of Raising Mothers, literary membership community Literary Liberation, and pens A Home Within Myself. Her work has been featured in a variety of publications, including Kindred by Parents, Refinery 29, Mutha Magazine, and Oldster Magazine and she was a contributor to the book ‘100 Diverse Voices on Parenthood’ by A Kid’s Company About. With a focus on intersectionality and social justice, de Groot’s writing explores the nuances of motherhood and the experiences of BIPOC mothers and marginalized genders. Through her work, she aims to amplify the voices of those who have been historically silenced and create a more equitable world for all. Raising Mothers was the 2021 Romper People’s Choice Iris Award Winner. Originally from Brooklyn New York, she is a first-generation American turned immigrant living in Amsterdam, NL with her husband, two children, and cat.