Enduring Voices (2025 Q3 / Paperback Magazine)

From the first page, I knew this literary magazine was unlike any other I’ve read before. The personality of each author and creative lifted off the page, I felt as though they were on my couch speaking to me directly. We laughed together, cried, held hands and space for the experiences many individuals with invisible illnesses feel inhibited from sharing with neurotypicals for fear of being misunderstood and shamed— which they often are in this society.

There are some incredibly vulnerable and powerful moments displayed here. Whether losing and finding yourself through illness, raising neurodiverse children, growing up as the child of a differently abled adult yourself, or otherwise living in the liminal space of not-quite-perfect health; there are a multitude of ways of existing presented here in raw and open ways. Each piece is accompanied by a summary or reflection from the contributor, allowing for additional context to truly appreciate the work. As diverse as every individual story appears to be, what clearly runs through the entire collection of works is a strong desire to be heard, seen, and accepted without the need to change within non-binary, societal, and cultural norms. There is a profound solidarity of shared, but simultaneously incredibly unique experiences which remind us about the core fundamental need to be able to exist without being forced to painfully alter the self. I can't really express what it felt to read this, at this particular time.