> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.possibilities.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # A Letter to Little Me (Plus Raffle Winners) - URL: https://www.possibilities.news/writing-retreat-childrens-book/ - Published: 2026-09-17T13:13:50.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-17T13:13:50.000Z - Description: I'm off to finish my children's book. I hope little Yessenia is proud. - Author: Yessenia Funes **Support my work and upgrade to paid** [**here**](https://www.possibilities.news/#/portal/signup) **for as little as $5 a month.** --- **LISTENING:** *to my husband cook in the kitchen* **FEELING:** *ready for the fall equinox* **SEEING:** *the darkness outside my window* Dear Little Me: You broke out into hives this week. I think it was due to stress. You probably don't know what hives are — or stress, for that matter — but one day, you will. Man, I wish I could protect you from all the ills of adult life. The bills, the family drama, the relationship pressures, the work obsession, the hunger for change. I guess that last one isn't new to adult life, though, right? We've long wanted something different – something better for the world. We often explored those possibilities in books. You have always lost yourself to the page, haven't you? Picture books, chapter books, romance and fantasy novels. We'd laugh and cry our way through a story. Our sister would scoff and make fun, but she doesn't get it. She's not a lover of books. I can't remember the first book we read, but the list of the ones we loved is long: "Captain Underpants," "Judy Moody," "Twilight." I would jump when library time came around in school. And giggle all the way to the Scholastic book fair, too. Our parents didn't have much, but they always gave us some money for a book. The library was our safe place, even well into high school when all we wanted was to eat our lunch in peace. [Support a future author here](#/portal/signup) I think you'd be proud to hear that I'm actually working on a children's book. Or, rather, we are! Paid subscribers here have gotten an exclusive look at early versions. We don't yet have children of our own, but we're surrounded by little ones. And, oh, they love the tales you tell. I think they'll like this one, too. In fact, I'm heading off to a writer's retreat this weekend — my first ever. I hope to return with a manuscript ready to fire off to an agent. I believe in the story we'll tell. About little girls on an adventure. About spirits who guide them across strange lands. About the specter of desert stars. About the bravery of the people who traverse beneath them. As summer comes to an end, let's not forget about the people whose journeys inspired the story we wish to tell: the migrants who cross the southwestern border. In 2026, at least 27 people have died in Arizona due to heat exposure on the U.S.-Mexico border, [according to Humane Borders](https://livinginfrastructure.org/es/neighbors/every-park-needs-a-steward/?ref=possibilities.news). This organization has been tracking migrant deaths in the state since 1990\. Their suffering is not new, but it's worsening as the planet — and thus, the desert — grows hotter and crueler. This year, the remains of children [have been found](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/21/migrant-deaths-arizona?ref=possibilities.news). We know who's to blame. We've always been so scared of the dark, but there's only one dark place where we've felt the most calm: beneath the night sky. I hope I get to witness its dazzle and light during my time in the woods. I hope I make our dreams come true. 🌀 **Thanks to everyone who took the reader survey. The raffle winners are: Amy Durocher, Lindsay Meiman, Mariah, Susana Delgadillo, and Marcela Riddick! You should all have received an email. If I don't hear back in a week, I'll spin the wheel again to offer up a collage or free subscription to someone else.** ## Currently Reading As the editorial lead for [Neighbors Magazine](https://livinginfrastructure.org/learn/?ref=possibilities.news), I've been cooking up lots of articles and stories. Our [latest piece](https://livinginfrastructure.org/neighbors/every-park-needs-a-steward/?ref=possibilities.news) is penned by yours truly, zooming into the people who work as park stewards for the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust. (You can read it in Spanish [here](https://livinginfrastructure.org/es/neighbors/every-park-needs-a-steward/?ref=possibilities.news), too! No AI translation here.) It's incredible to see a group of independent journalists come together to launch "[Betting the House](https://coveringclimatenow.org/projects/betting-the-house/?ref=possibilities.news)," a pop-up collaboration with Covering Climate Now about how people continue to buy property in climate-vulnerable areas. I'm Rachel Ramirez's biggest fan, so read hers on Hawai'i for The Confluence [here](https://theconfluence.news/p/hawaii-sea-level-rise-real-estate-climate-disclosure?ref=possibilities.news). Colonialism is alive and well, Anita Hofschneider and Sachi Kitajima Mulkey over at Grist remind us in their [latest](https://grist.org/energy/deep-seabed-mining-pacific-trump-guam-guerrero-samoa/?ref=possibilities.news). ## Collage ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0c/1a/0c1a1c44-c395-4236-a843-5697585f81d1/content/images/2026/09/013_lolita.jpeg) 013\. ****LOLITA** by Yessenia Funes using mixed media, 2023\. \[From the archive\] ****I'm heading up to the Catskills! Excited for my life to slow down with the seasons soon.** \- Yessenia x