How far have we really come?

How far have we really come in the fight for equality, nondiscrimination, human rights, and feminism?

My take is: two steps forward and only one step back. As a writer, I want to make a difference, but I know that change takes time. However, change is taking place, all the time, in people and society alike. This I have the privilege to witness daily, as an author and also in my work as a therapist. Continue >>

The story of Sonia O. lives on

My blog was invited to participate in the Finnish Broadcasting Company’s 101 Books project in celebration of the centenary of Finnish independence. The purpose of the project was to choose 101 Finnish classics, the most significant book of each year of independence. The books to be reviewed by each blogger were selected randomly, and I was asked to read Sonia O. Was Here from 1981. Continue >>

Critics and Credibility

Are works by female writers and male writers still received and critiqued differently?⁣ Are women writers still taken less seriously than men? In her article for the Literary Hub, Joanna Russ, the author of How to Suppress Women’s Writing, explains how female writers’ careers are often reduced to a single book: “She only wrote one good book.” Russ describes the mechanics of focusing on an isolated achievement. Continue >>

A book loaded with meaning

With unapologetic abandon, Sonia O. Was Here by Anja Snellman tested and crossed the line of what was considered appropriate back in 1981. I had read the book previously and decided to read it again to see how it has stood the test of time. When I first read the book, I was still young and living my wild years of adventure and experimentation. Some of my experiences came close to those of Sonia O. Continue >>