"a kind of magic"

Just sharing some lovely feedback the Harry Potter essay has received so far ...

Author

Sandy Allen
December 19, 2025

Welcome to What’s Helping Today, a newsletter about the everyday work of staying alive on earth — written by author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen.

Hey folks,

It’s been a really hard week, in many respects. There was the awful news last weekend about the mass shootings both in Australia and at my alma mater, Brown. I initially feared for folks I met on campus, back there reporting this fall (all okay). All week I’ve had people reaching out, given my association. There was then the horrendous murders of the Reiners. And then this week soulless politicians have even further escalated their attacks on trans people and our healthcare — especially targeting trans children. It’s all so awful. I’ve personally had other hard stuff going on, as well, on top of the holidays being a typically shitty time of year.

And: Finally this week my Harry Potter essay published, after five years of work … So far I’m relieved to say I’ve been really pleased and heartened by the kind feedback this piece has received.

What’s Helping Today: All the lovely words readers have been saying to me. I wanted to share some of the comments people said on Bluesky for example …

“that was beautifully written. those books once meant a lot to me also, but i agree that the ones i still have would better serve as kindling for next year’s campfires.”
“An absolutely stunning piece. Thank you so much.”
“The essay really got to the heart of that grief! It’s not an easy thing by any means.”
“This was an exceptional read. You put into words a lot of the complex emotions I’ve been feeling in regards to HP. I identified so hard with it growing up and now I can barely stand to consume anything HP bc of my queer identity. A series full of magic and hope spoiled by hate… Thanks for sharing. 💔“
Heartbreaking and hopeful.
“Replied to you …thank you for writing this <3 and, yeah, your choice to burn the books was a kind of magic, a kind of rite. as, frankly, was your choice to write and post this.”

For anyone who’s not yet read it … Here again is my essay:

Burn Harry Burn: Reckoning With My Harry Potter Fandom as a Trans Person

During the spring of 2020, as the world locked down and people were dead and dying and breaking apart and mourning and afraid and hiding, the British author J.K. Rowling decided to publish an open …

lithub.com/burn-harry-burn-reckoning-with-my-harry-potter-fandom-as-a-trans-person

I’ll share some links and that’ll be it for today.

This week my latest Catskill Crew garden report column also published … on seeds!

WINTER SOLSTICE

Weekly Catskills report featuring local events, winter conditions, Dinner Club gatherings, local makers, real estate finds, gardening tips, and Catskill-made goods.

catskillcrew.com/p/winter-solstice

A recommended reflection about a speech I also recommend watching …

Watch Rep. Sarah McBride's Powerful Statement on Republicans' Anti-Trans Obsession

The first openly trans member of Congress made a rare, personal appeal as the GOP wages an all-out assault on trans youth.

www.readtpa.com/p/watch-rep-sarah-mcbrides-powerful

This is a great resource …

Transgender Healthcare: Explainer — Unbreaking

How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.

unbreaking.org/issues/transgender-healthcare

Beautiful tribute to Rob Reiner …

Rob Reiner was a mensch. In death, he showed us Trump’s a schmuck.

The president's remarks about the murder of the filmmaker and his wife cast Trump as petty and callous.

www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/12/rob-reiner-michelle-death-donald-trump

Loved this appreciation of Alice Wong …

Remembering Alice Wong

On the one-month anniversary of her passing, we honor the acclaimed disability justice advocate, writer, shit-talker, and friend to so many.

www.coyotemedia.org/remembering-alice-wong

Was grateful to see this takedown of that godawful WSJ piece …

Who Can Imagine Why Anyone Would Want To Cut This Lovely Mom Out Of Her Life? | Defector

Laura Wellington is estranged from one of her adult daughters. The Connecticut 59-year-old is somewhat famous for this, in fact, or anyway famous for her response to it. Across TikTok and Instagram, under the name “Doormat Mom,” Wellington’s railing against the supposed injustice done to her by a daughter she calls an “ungrateful little bastard”…

defector.com/who-can-imagine-why-anyone-would-want-to-cut-this-lovely-mom-out-of-her-life

If you like to LOL, this was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while …

Sending love,
Sandy

p.s. If you want something uplifting to watch while you endure the holidays, I again recommend Come See Me in the Good Light …

p.p.s. Naturally this is stuck in my head now …

Thanks for reading What’s Helping Today, a newsletter by me — author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen. If you were forwarded this message, WHT is free; you can subscribe here. If you like my work: Please consider supporting me via my Buy Me a Coffee. My suggested amount of $5 a month (or more!) will get you access to perks (perks TBA!) … Your help in supporting my work is greatly appreciated!