#468: Let’s discuss “Athens, Revised”

Article Club

Dear Loyal Readers,

Happy Halloween! I wish you successful tricking and treating. In case this needs to be said, 100 Grand is the best candy bar. (It used to be Twix.) Thank you.

Now let’s get to this month’s featured article. But before that:

* If you’re a newish subscriber: Since January 2020, I’ve chosen one article every month for a deep dive. Folks who are interested read it, annotate it, and discuss it. The author generously records a podcast interview. It’s been fun.

If you’ve never participated (that is to say, most of you), you’re invited. We’re a kind, thoughtful reading community. I think you’ll enjoy it.

All right, let’s get down to business. I’m excited to announce this month’s article: “Athens, Revised.” Written by Erin Wood and published in The Sun, the article is equal parts devastating and uplifting. It’s raw and vulnerable. Throughout, it is brilliantly written.

Here’s what you can expect in today’s issue:

* My blurb about this month’s article

* A short biography about the author

* A podcast interview with the author

* What you need to do if you’d like to participate

Are you already confident that you’d like to join? We’re meeting up on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT. All you need to do is click on the button below and sign up. 📖

Athens, Revised

When she was 26, Erin Wood was on the last leg of a trip to Greece. On the afternoon before her flight, a man approached her, offered her a free tour of the Acropolis, a recommendation to a quality hotel, a meal, and a drink. Early the next morning, Ms. Wood woke up in her hotel bedroom, naked from the waist down, her body heavy, her sheets wet. “What have I allowed to happen?” she asked.

In this article, Ms. Wood explores the answer to that question. At first, she considers two versions of what happened. She writes two narratives. They both don’t feel right. Then, after unhelpful couples therapy with her unhelpful husband, she realizes that she’s been asking herself the wrong question. One night, unable to sleep, Ms. Wood reads an essay online about a woman who survived a serial killer. “What if I am not alone?” she asks. This new, revised question — it’s the one.

By Erin Wood • The Sun Magazine • 23 mins • Gift Link

✚ If you read Amanda E. Machado’s “The Abstract Rage To Protect,” June’s article of the month, this piece is a perfect complement.

⭐️ About the author

Erin Wood writes, edits, and publishes from her home in Little Rock, Arkansas, and is a native Arkansan.

Erin owns and runs Et Alia Press, a “small press for big voices,” publishing award-winning adult nonfiction and children’s books with strong ties to Arkansas. She provides publishing advice, editing, and coaching for creative writers, and loves helping businesses and nonprofits share their stories.

Erin’s book, Women Make Arkansas: Conversations with 50 Creatives, was a silver medalist for “Best Nonfiction South” from the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs) and was featured at the 2019 Arkansas Literary Festival.

Erin’s work has been anthologized and is forthcoming or has appeared in The Sun, HuffPost Personal, River Teeth’s “Beautiful Things,” Scary Mommy, Catapult, The Rumpus, Ms. Magazine's Blog, Psychology Today, and elsewhere, and has been a notable in Best American Essays and nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

⭐️ About the interview

I’m always deeply appreciative that authors agree to do an interview for Article Club. It’s a gift that they share with us their process, their craft, and their perspective. Thank you, Ms. Wood, for saying yes to participating in our reading community!

I’m also grateful that loyal reader and co-host Melinda generously agreed to facilitate the conversation with Ms. Wood. I feel the interview was richer as a result.

In the interview, Melinda and Ms. Wood discussed a number of topics, including:

* how the essay originated in 2008 when Ms. Wood was in graduate school, and how the piece transformed through the support of three writing groups

* how Ms. Wood captured the haziness and disconnection she felt waking up the morning after surviving the sexual assault

* how meeting Natalie helped Ms. Wood feel less shame and less alone because of the power of sharing their stories and rewriting their traumatic experiences

* how women deserve opportunities to revise their own narratives

I encourage you to listen to the interview if you have the time. Thank you!

🙋🏽‍♀️ Interested? Here’s what’s next.

You are certainly welcome to read the article, listen to the interview, and call it a day. But if you’re intrigued, if you’re interested, you might want to discuss this article in more depth with other kind, thoughtful people.

If you sign up, I’ll be sure to get you all the info you need, including the Zoom link and what you can expect from the discussion.

If this will be your first time participating in Article Club, I’m 100% sure you’ll find that you’ll feel welcome. We’re a kind, thoughtful reading community.

What do you think? Interested? All you need to do is sign up below. Or reach out with all of your questions.

Thank you for reading and listening to this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

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