Welcome to TFAW Letters — the Summer Edition — by the Filipino American Woman Project! ☀️

I’m your host, Jen Amos, here to read aloud letters inspired by real conversations with you!

It all begins with one line:

If I could say one thing...

Because sometimes one thing is all we need to take up a little more space. 💛

First letter releases next Friday! Stay tuned! 🎧

What was once the greatest setback in your life that has now become your greatest inspiration?

This letter is for the working mom who was a proud career woman — until she became a mother.

In this letter, Mia writes to her twin sons as an empty nester. She’s now honest about who she was when they were young, and the real struggle she faced as a career-driven woman to surrender to motherhood. She doesn’t shy away from acknowledging how much she had to compromise and the guilt and resentment that came with it. Yet, along the way through the growing pains of being a working mother, something unexpected happened.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you can be a devoted mother and still be the ambitious woman you were before, this letter was written for you.

Letter 189 is part of The Filipino American Woman Project’s letters series, inspired by real conversations.

This concludes our AAPI Heritage Month edition. Thanks for listening, and we’ll resume in the summer!

Question: I have a paid membership. Where’s my bonus content?

Who’s that one person where you think: if only I were them, I could finally be who I’m meant to be?

In this letter, Mari grows up in the Philippines as “the white girl,” the only fair-skinned mestiza in her Filipino family. When her dad moves them to America, she’s excited to finally belong. But she finds herself sitting in an ESL class, staring into a mirror she doesn’t recognize herself in, and taking part in a years-long project of blending in.

Then, in college, a Filipino woman shows up in her social media feed — proud, loud, and unapologetically Pinay. And Mari cannot stand her. But every time this woman appears in her feed, something in her ignites. So she does what any reasonable person does: she goes deeper into her feed.

If you have ever followed someone online and felt a rage you couldn’t explain, this letter was written for you.

Letter 188 is part of The Filipino American Woman Project’s letters series, inspired by real conversations. This is our AAPI Heritage Month edition.

Question: I have a paid membership. Where’s my bonus content?

Right now, bonus content will be provided in the off-season, starting June 5th.

In the meantime, if you have any burning questions about any of our published letters, you can always ping Jen in our Family Potluck Group Chat or reply to any of our newsletters.

Messages are typically checked on Fridays. 💌