This episode is a little different in that Kim Feldman and Christina Bieber Lake are interviewing Victoria about her recent essay published in the November issue of Plough Quarterly entitled “Mary’s Song: What my journey with disability taught me about a God who raised up the weak and brings down the mighty.”

Knowing

• Our relationship with Mary
• Plough and what they publish

Reading

• Victoria’s essay is a personal narrative essay that walks us through her earliest experiences of praying to Mary and coming to terms with her disability and her faith over the course of childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, culminating with more recent health choices and decisions around childbearing and childrearing. She especially focuses on how the women of the Bible and the embodiment of their faith have provided her with a lens for making sense of her own struggles throughout the different stages of her life. The essay is structured around the Hail Mary prayer and includes a contemplation of Mary’s song from her encounter with Elizabeth, known as the Magnificat, which was featured in episode 119 of the Christian Feminist Podcast.

Passing On

• A re-read of Jane Austen
• Follow on socials: Imani Barbarin, Alice Wong, Judy Heumann, Zack Anner, Disabled Feminist; Peter Mommsen’s editorial and Leah Libresco’s book review from the Plough Ability and Disability Issue
• Andre Dubus, Meditations from a Moveable Chair