From The Newtown Bee, May 7, 2021 issue:
‘Be You,’ Says Scott And Dozens Of Others
Since 1993, Chicken Soup for the Soul has published over 250 titles.
Sophfronia Scott has had her work included in four of those collections, including the latest — Chicken Soup for the Soul: Be You — 101 Stories of Affirmation, Determination and Female Empowerment — released in April. “No Sacrifice” shares Scott’s thoughts, concerns, and realizations before, during, and after her son was accepted into a magnet school 20 miles away from the home she and her family share in Sandy Hook.
“No Sacrifice” is not, she writes toward the opening on the 1,200 word essay, “a story about parental sacrifice, like the ones you hear about moms and dads who sit in cold cars waiting for children to finish early morning sports practices or late-night rehearsals.”
Instead the essay is, Scott told The Newtown Bee during a phone call on May 4, “a different take on a mother’s story.”
Referencing back to the work’s opening sentences, Scott this week said the essay demonstrates that mothering is one place in life “where we may not seem to have agency.”
Mothers, she said, “give so much to our children, and so in my mind, it doesn’t have to be a ‘give everything away to your child.’ It could be possible that in entering a new opportunity for your child, you can find new opportunity for you, if you look at it that way.”
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Be You, Scott feels, is an empowering collection.
“It’s about showing people that you have agency in your life, in so many different areas.
“You can make choices — good choices — for yourself,” she added. “It’s not about life just happening to you.”
Read the rest of the article here at The Newtown Bee’s Website.
