This week I’m watching a lively remake and thinking about the balance of joy and sorrow. You can find the written version of this episode on my website: cybelerain.com/musings Mentioned in This Episode Books The Color Purple by Alice Walker Movies The Color Purple Articles "The 'New Color Purple' Exudes Joy, but Dances Past Some Deeper Complexities…

This week I’m reading about poetry as prayer and thinking about the pain of compulsive caretaking. I discuss her letter to "the compulsive caregivers" and relate it to my life as a young mom, and later, as a sex worker. You can find the written version of this episode on my website: https://cybelerain.com/2023/12/15/when-we-hear-need-do-we-join-its…

This week I’m reading arguments about why sex workers should get “real jobs" and (re)thinking the notion of labor. You can find a written version of this episode on my website: https://cybelerain.com/2023/12/08/whats-so-great-about-work-anyway/ You can find me at cybelerain.com or on socials: Twitter; @cybelerain Instagram: @cybele_rain --- Send in…

This week I’m reading about the power of correspondence and thinking about my nostalgia for hand-written letters. You can find a written version of this episode on my website: https://cybelerain.com/2023/12/01/dear-lover/ Books mentioned in this episode: Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone's This Is How You Lose the Time War. Order your handwritten card…

This week I’m reading about the power of humor and thinking about its role in creating intimacy. I discuss Mike Birbiglia's new book, The New One, which he co-wrote with his wife, J. Hope Stein. I also call back to an On Being interview with comedian Baratunde Thurston, who discusses the power of comedy to digest the undigestable. You can find the …

This week I’m thinking about the pleasure and pain of intimate relationships. This week, while I don't share reflections on a book I read, I do share one on Krista Tippett's podcast interview with comedian Baratude Thurston. I highlight their discussion of comedy as a spiritual quest, and also their discussion on rupture and repair in intimate rela…

This week I’m reading about the depth of love and thinking about who gets to have bodily autonomy. Amy Bloom's memoir about helping her husband seek medically assisted suicide deeply touched me. In this episode, I talk about the book and who gets to decide how they live and die. You can find the written version of this episode on my website: https:…

This week I’m reading about the things we erase about ourselves for others and thinking about a future with less shame and fear. In this Musing, I pick up on the theme of coming out in Saeed Jones' coming-of-age memoir How We Fight For Our Lives. I talk about coming out as a sex worker and the problems that it causes. I also touch on the notion of …