My life story used to be about shame and abuse. But I transformed it into one of pride and survival. The opposite of shame is your story on a goddamn billboard in NYC. Thanks Amazon. Happy #AAPIHeritageMonth !

bye bye.

RT @TuesdayAgency: A great interview with @stephaniefoooo and @georgepren, in anticipation of Stephanie's event at the Idaho Office for Ref….

Honestly the only people that ever reliably pay me on time are @mosaicjourno and my publisher.

It is absolutely bonkers that I have to chase down a full 50% of the freelance payments I am owed, from major companies that should have better processes for this.

Just a few more hours to get my book for ONLY $2.99!!!! On Kindle today!

Welp, never using Sticker Mule again

BONUS CONTENT: As a thank you, Ali bought us a truly excellent shirt for our baby that I am earnestly completely obsessed with, please enjoy it.

I was reminded that Ali's show was called, "Are You Gonna Laugh, or Am I Gonna Make You Laugh?" where if you weren't laughing when you called in, he'd make jokes until you did. But he has seemed so srs lately, and I hope this is the start of him getting his humor back.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, everyone, for helping us meet our goal! Ali and all of us are so beyond thrilled. He gives everyone a sincere thank you, and we will post updates as we hear them! If you still have it in you to throw in some extra $$ for the other DJs, that'd be a doozy.

These are men who served our country, who worked against the Taliban, and were punished for it for a very long time. Let's give them a warm American welcome and show them how hospitable we can be. Thank you so much!!🥰.

Any money we might raise on top of this will be dispersed among the other DJs! Many of them did arrive knowing some family, so Ali's case is most pressing, but most have kids and everyone would benefit from a little help.

We are trying to raise some money for Ali to be able to buy a used car, get a job. He was placed in Arizona, where he doesn't know anyone, he'd like eventually to move to Maryland where he has a cousin. This money will help him get his feet under him.

Ali just arrived in the USA this month with his wife and young children. He was given housing, but as he told us, he's now on the hook to pay more money each month than he's ever had in his life. There are some jobs at the airport, but he'd need to have a car to commute there.

Here's a couple pics of Ali, who volunteered as a teacher in the refugee camp. As you can see, the school was pretty bare-bones. Until the Taliban infiltrated the camp and started looking for him, and he had to go into hiding.

But. America is a very different place than rural Afghanistan or a Pakistani refugee camp.

And helped arrange border crossings, passport acquisitions, visa interviews. He spent thousands of dollars of his own money and so many hours of his own time. And finally, finally! He has been able to bring over half a dozen DJs to the U.S.A !!!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🥳.

For a long time we thought the U.S. gov't had abandoned them, and they'd never get out. Joey called and emailed embassies, charities, NGOs, he filled out form after form. He spoke to veterans and mercs on the ground to find out where the safest places to be were. .

"The Taliban infiltrated my refugee camp."."The Taliban murdered my brother looking for me."."I'm hiding in someone's basement, and I don't know where to get food or how long I can stay here."."My children made it to Pakistan but I'm stuck here, I don't know when I'll see them.".

These DJs were in extreme danger, especially after the Taliban came to power. They would text Joey desperate pleas for help, sometimes late at night. I came to know the expression on his face when he'd get a What'sApp with bad news.

The entire time, the Taliban sent death threats to the DJs, and sent missiles at the radio station. They were protected by the U.S. base -- until, of course, the U.S. pulled out.