Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.
In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.
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Weekly Wide-Awake: Love as the Practice of Freedom

Easing into February with the energy of a month old New Year. Exhilarated by the expectations and goals, exhausted by the speed at which habits are formed. Somewhere between wintering and hibernating, and tackling big new goals.
February is an interesting month, brief in its length and long in its ambition. It is a month set aside to remember the contribution of African Americans to our culture. To hold up the more perfect union we become when we celebrate our interconnected, acknowledge the beauty and brokenness of our world, and reconcile to love one another more fully.
February is also Turner syndrome Awareness Month. The month when I remember I am one of the 2% of people who survive birth with Turner syndrome. It is my annual moment to reflect on what living with a chronic condition means to my past, present, and future. It is when I revisit the lessons I have learned about hope, mortality, and strength. It when I am reminded to be grateful for it all. In loving it all, I am free.
About Katie

From Louisville. Live in Atlanta. Curious by nature. Researcher by education. Writer by practice. Grateful heart by desire.
Buy the Book!
The Stage Is On Fire, a memoir about hope and change, reasons for voyaging, and dreams burning down can be purchased on Amazon.