If You're Looking For Trouble... is back!
It's been two months of travel, respite, adventure, and reflection...
This is just a wee note to say If You’re Looking For Trouble… will soon be back to its regularly scheduled programming. It’s been two months since my last newsletter and it has been two months filled with travel, rest, integration, adventure, exploration, and revelations. There were flight delays and disruptions across the East Coast of the United States. There were road trips to upstate Maine. There were gorgeous weddings, connecting with old friends, plenty of seafood, and many, many bookshops.
(A photo of me holding Vervain outside of Spirit Rising Yoga in Brighton, Michigan after my values compass workshop with 11 beautiful souls.)
My first collaboration with Marina Oswald of TalkWithMarina for a Values Compass session in Edinburgh at Gemma Cairney’s 22 Argyle Place was beautiful. This gorgeous soul was a pleasure to work with and we connected with a group of beautiful humans exploring what is important to them. Congratulations to Gemma for her first little one as well. Their family of two has grown to a family of three.
I’ve been back from my US book tour for just over a week and I am so incredibly grateful for the hospitality, connection, and joy I experienced on my book tour in Detroit, Brighton (Michigan), Portland (Maine), and Washington, D.C. I connected with readers, ran values compass workshops, and had wonderful conversations with humans thinking deeply about disruption as an act of love, accountability, and hope. Pictures to come!
🌸 An Evening of Remembrance for the Abolition of the Slave Trade 🌸
James Baldwin said, ‘Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.’ I believe that ‘facing’ is the first step and if we can face a thing, we can change it. Everything can be changed with the will to do it and the love that comes with trying to make change. Last night, this was part of my message to the Edinburgh Lord Provost and others gathered to celebrate the UNESCO International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition as keynote speaker.
Disruption is an act of love and care because if we did not care we would not bother to change things.
The event took place at the Cornerstone Centre at St John’s Church on the West End of Princes Street. The event featured our Edinburgh Makar Hannah Lavery, performances from Passion4Fusion’s Youth Group Voices of Change, a sharing by Catherine Bisset of her original play ‘Placeholder’, and poetry read by Jeda Pearl Lewis and Shasta Ali as part of their collection of poems ‘Disrupting the Narrative’ commissioned by Museums and Galleries Edinburgh led by Gillian Findlay in partnership with the Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Implementation Group chaired by Irene Mosota. We commemorated Malvina Wells, the only known person buried in Edinburgh at St John’s cemetary born a slave who died a free woman, by hearing a eulogy for her read by Nava Rizvi founder of Rummān Collective. The procession to her burial ground was led by Dr Gameli Kodzo Tordzro. The evening was compéred by Natasha Hope, co-founder of Hastin, a company that works on data and strategy to help clients reach their DE&I goals.
✨ Make Good Trouble News ✨
Make Good Trouble with Shanna Vavra on the Sense of Soul podcast.
Sense of Soul Podcast is a podcast hosted by Shanna Vavra. Our conversation about family history, ancestral trauma, and having the courage to be a cycle breaker of unhealthy family patterns is called ‘Finding Freedom in Truth’ and can be found
Listen to the podcast episode ‘Finding Freedom in Truth’ here.
Watch a clip of our conversation on YouTube here.
You can find the Listen Notes here. Visit Sense of Soul Podcast on Instagram.
Have you read Make Good Trouble: A Practical Guide to the Energetics of Disruption? If so, I would love to hear your thoughts on the book. Send me a simple message here or leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon.
🌱 Upcoming Events 🌱
Keep your eyes peeled for the announcement of a February retreat I am planning, set to take place in Scotland. You will be the first to know and also to receive a cheeky discount code here. If you’re interested in connecting with your inner self, grounding into your body, and connecting deeply with nature - this one is for you.
There will also be one more book event at Argonaut Books in September, so keep your eye on this newsletter for more information about this event.
💧Tune In to BBC Radio Scotland this Week 💧
The Sunday Morning Show on 25 August
Tomorrow morning I’ll be on BBC Radio Scotland’s Sunday Morning Show with presenter Connie McLoughlin alongside Dr Lesley Orr and Rupa Mooker from the University of Glasgow talking about Presidential Nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris, Ethical Literary in Scotland, and Activism in Older Women. If you’re interested tune in to the radio at 9 minutes past 9! Did you watch Vice President Kamala Harris’s Democratic Nomination Acceptance Speech? I’ve been watching it this morning and you can see it here.
The Afternoon Show on 27 August
On Tuesday, I will be joining Scott Bryan on The Afternoon Show to review We Might Regret This (BBC 2), Made In Korea: The K-Pop Experience (BBC One), and Sherwood - Series 2 (BBC One)! If Sherwood is your favourite or you want to hear more about new TV shows, please tune in and post on X to tell me what you think about our review.
🌶️ Things I’ve Read and Things I’ve Watched 🌶️
This will also return with the next edition of my newsletter. Stay tuned for a review of Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers (2024), Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers (2023), Sang-Hyo Yook’s Our Season (2023), Simone Biles Rising (2024), Umbrella Academy - Series 3 (2024), Emily in Paris - Series 4 (2024), and Love is Blind UK (2024).