Sunday, December 14, 2008

Happy Birthday, Mom

Today marks the birthday of my mother, Ellen Willis, who died on November 9, 2006. If you're a follower of this blog, you probably know that she was a major Second Wave feminist writer, critic, and activist. The best way to honor her today is by reading one of her pieces, many of which you can find simply by Googling my mother's name. Every so often I am startled by the staggering amount of fans coming out of the woodwork, to tell me how much they were influenced by her work, and how much they love and admire her.

Her life's work was one of the main inspirations for GIRLdrive, and continues to be an inspiration to me every second of every day. As my dad wrote to me in an email today:

"Ellen is always on my mind and heart. But we sometimes need markers like birthdays to help us focus for more than fleeting moments."

Yes.

--Nona