Alaina Leary

Alaina Leary

Bio

Alaina Leary is an editor and activist based in Boston, MA. She is currently a social media editor for We Need Diverse Books. She has an MA in publishing from Emerson College. When she isn’t busy reading, you can find her at the beach or curled up with her girlfriend and their two adopted literary cats.

Alaina Leary Articles

What The Poor Won't Tell You

All I wanted, most days, was a cute apartment with big windows, sheer curtains billowing in the breeze, where I could sit comfortably and read a book.

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Having A Cat Makes Me Feel Better About Being Alive

I told Winnie that I was queer before I told anyone human—late at night, in my room, after writing it down in my journal. “You won’t stop loving me if I’m gay, will you?” I asked him. He replied with his signature loud meow.

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Image credit: Christopher Flynn via Unsplash

Navigating The Trauma Of Moving

Moving can be a traumatic experience. We often forget how many remnants of the past we hold onto—whether intentionally or accidentally, just because we put a letter away in a drawer and forgot about it.

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How Do Memoirists Survive Telling Their Hard Stories? 

"Writing about trauma or difficult experiences doesn’t repair that trauma,” said Melanie. “It doesn’t make it go away. But I kept hearing what a transformative thing it was for [the memoirists] to shape these stories into something that they could be proud of.”

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" The future of ending rape culture is intersectional and inclusive. There’s no other way forward."

We Need To Remember Disability When We Talk About Sexual Assault

In the aftermath of my rape, I became an activist for ending rape culture. And I quickly found that even in feminist circles, disability was often left out of the conversation completely.

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"If I could, I would almost always be outside and near the water."

#RavsWriters: Alaina Leary - Story Teller, Cat Lover, Mermaid

Welcome to #RavsWriters, an opportunity for you to get to know some of th

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Growing Up With Autism And ADHD, I Had To Adapt My Own Education

The education system isn’t designed for students like me. From as early as preschool up through my master’s degree, I struggled in a traditional classroom setting for a few reasons, and needed to adapt my own methods of surviving education.

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Doniga Markegard Is Teaching People How To Be More Wild

Doniga Markegard teaches at a wilderness school instructor, and it’s important to her that her own kids learn about nature and wildlife.

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"I have a lifetime of momless moments ahead of me, but I’ve prepared for those since her death. What I hadn’t prepared for was that I’d have to celebrate one of those milestones on a day that I typically spend in mourning."

My Graduation Is On Mother’s Day, But My Mom Won’t Be There

I have a lifetime of momless moments ahead of me, but I’ve prepared for those since her death. What I hadn’t prepared for was that I’d have to celebrate one of those milestones on a day that I typically spend in mourning.

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The author pictured with their glitter cane. Follow them on IG @alainaskeys

Learning To Love My Sparkly Purple Cane

I’ve walked the line between visibly and invisibly disabled my entire life.

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