Elise Shaffer

CW: Dicussions of transphobia, and suicide

I just finished reading Sovereign, the second book in the Nemesis series and really enjoyed it. I was going to do a review of the book, but after I finished it, I realized that there is something more important to blog about. Instead, I’d like to talk about representation.

I’ve been looking for a replacement for Harry Potter on my bookshelf for a little while now. JK Rowling is a horrible transphobe and while I know people want to divorce her from her work, I don’t think that’s possible. The author may be dead, but as long a J.K. Rowling is still alive, she profits from Harry Potter. She uses those profits to increase her platform and advocate against trans people. So, I can’t support the franchise or any of her other work. 

I sat at my computer on September 16th, staring at the email I’d spent the last week composing. I read over it again as so many feelings washed over me. I was anxious, but excited. My hand hovered over the send button. This was an email I couldn’t take back. I reread the email one final time, took a deep breath, closed my eyes and hit “send.” It was done.

I wake up every morning to an inbox that is almost unmanageable. It’s overrun with LinkedIn notifications and marketing emails. Email has become a stressful slog that I find myself procrastinating. Prior to the announcement that Basecamp was working on an e-mail service, I had spent a few months trying every email client in the App Store. But, I ultimately kept defaulting back to iOS Mail and macOS mail. So, I was open to trying a new service.