We hope you enjoyed the January 2024 issue of This Awful Awesome Life. Many thanks to Orlando Bartro for his contributions to the January issue.

For our second issue of 2024, I decided to focus on love (Valentine’s Day) and Black History Month.

This year, I will be writing a short story for each issue related to the theme in some way. This month I wrote a story about love and new beginnings.

For our new column, “Happy Birthday,” our author this month is Toni Morrison. Morrison’s first novel, The Bluest Eye,  was published in 1970. In 1988, Ms. Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize and the American Book Award for Beloved. In 1993, she became the first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

In honor of Black history month, we have articles about Loving v. Virginia, the landmark Supreme Court decision that overturned laws banning marriage between people of different races. We are also proud to feature Dr. Jane Cooke Wright, an African American surgeon and pioneer in oncology. We are featuring Pauli Murray and Malcolm X in “Dare to Believe.”

This month I reviewed The Children by David Halberstam about the young people who spearheaded the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins and the Freedom Rides of the Civil Rights Movement.

Our words for February are words from all over the world pertaining to love.

We’re streaming Academy award nominated films this month. The Oscar goes to…

This month in “The Twelve Months of Salsa,” I made Fresh Pineapple salsa. I like this recipe because it’s colorful, simple to make, and you can change it up by adding spices of your choice.

This month, Orlando Bartro has written a humorous love story.

We have some great choices in our reading recommendations for kids and adults. Also, check out our Author page, December in Pictures, and our preview of the March issue. Take our February Star-crossed Lover’s Quiz.

Everything in Between will be released in audiobook soon. I selected a narrator. Fingers crossed she is still available. I’m sorry the audiobook wasn’t ready for the holidays, but hold onto those amazon gift cards, it’s coming!

The internationally best-selling author, Luke Murphy, has a new book out. The Cradle Will Fall hit bookstores on September 30. Charlene Taylor and Calvin Watters are teaming up for their most challenging case ripped from today’s headlines.

Elizabeth Meitzler, who was featured in our December 2022 issue, has a new book out, The Power Move. It’s a hockey-romance novel, and after reading and reviewing her debut novel, I predict this book will be just as entertaining. The Power Move is available on Amazon for paperback or kindle unlimited. Congratulations Elizabeth!

I hope you are carefully vetting the growing list of people who have formally announced their intent to run for office in the 2024 elections. Senatorial and presidential hopefuls have begun campaigning for the 2024 elections, but you still have time to start the vetting process. Please keep showing up and voting. We will never tell you who to vote for, but we will keep telling you to vote and do your homework! Vet all candidates and insist that all political parties do the same. Which incumbent legislators have actually authored and submitted legislation to benefit Americans? Who’s all talk and soundbites? Follow the money. Who is the new darling of the billionaires? What will they do, and who will they sell out to keep those dollars rolling in? Vote for the candidates who are the most qualified and who will safeguard our democracy.

Samantha Sayers has been missing since she disappeared on August 1, 2018, after a day of solo hiking at Vesper Peak near Seattle, Washington. Sam grew up in the Erie, Pennsylvania area where her parents Ron and Lisa still live.

Her family is exploring all avenues of inquiry to find and bring her home.

In the face of such an enormous challenge, they have chosen hope. Please keep sending positive thoughts to Sam and her family. As promised, we will be displaying a yellow ribbon for Sam on the opening page of each issue of This Awful Awesome Life until she is home.

If you are a person of faith, please pray for her safe return to her family. Because we are an online publication, we can update this article with any news. We will also post information on our Facebook page, but only after it is verified. Thank you!

Please share our link, www.thisawfulawesomelife.com with your friends and family.

Even though This Awful Awesome Life is a free publication, our subscription numbers matter. They affect the quality of people we attract to be in our magazine. So far, we’ve been fortunate to feature amazing people from all walks of life, and we want to do even more. You can help by becoming a subscriber and encouraging your friends to read and subscribe to our magazine.

When you subscribe to our free mailing list, each new issue of This Awful Awesome Life will be delivered directly to your inbox with a personal note from me. To subscribe use this link, https://www.thisawfulawesomelife.com/about

You will receive the link for the new issue the same day it is published. Please check your SPAM folder and if you find our email, mark it as not spam. We value your privacy, and we won’t share your name or email address. Your email address is never visible to other subscribers. Our email notices are sent through Mailchimp because they provide outstanding security to ensure the emails we send are safe.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, you should!

Like us on Facebook for the latest from This Awful Awesome Life!

Happy Reading,

Fran