Introducing Ourselves
After six months, we felt it was finally time to share why we're here.
When we decided to start this newsletter, the plan was to remain anonymous. We’ve seen Banned Together. We’ve read That Librarian. The names, accusations, and threats toward those who stand up against censorship are truly appalling. We wanted to join the cause but were a little nervous.
That’s changed.
Over the last several months, we’ve interviewed authors who put their personal stories out there for the world to see, who refuse to back down to censorship or change what they write about. We’ve spent time with activists who put their whole hearts into protecting their communities from censorship, who embrace conversation with those who have different views.
Each of them has inspired us. If they’re not hiding, why should we? How can we make meaningful change if we’re too afraid to come out from behind the keyboard? We felt it was finally time for us to introduce ourselves.
So hi, we’re Lauren and Jared, proud parents, and big supporters of the freedom to read. We believe books play an important part in teaching our children about the world and strive to include stories from a variety of perspectives in our home library. Over time, we started to notice that many of those books had been banned around the country.
The more we read about the rise in censorship, and how the majority of it comes from highly organized groups trying to ban books in the name of “parent’s rights,” the more frustrated we became. We’re parents. Being told what books our children should or should not have access to feels like a violation of our rights more than anything.
Were other parents aware of what was happening? Would anyone notice when these books quietly disappeared from shelves? How would this impact the availability of these stories in the future? It felt like reading them at home simply wasn’t enough. We wanted to bring awareness to the rise in censorship and increase demand for these stories. That’s when we launched Once Upon a Ban.
When we first started, we figured we’d get a handful of friends to sign up for a banned book club. Six months later, hundreds of you are on this journey with us. So here we are, more committed than ever, spending our nights, weekends, and kids’ nap times devoted to this cause.
We’ve read countless banned books with our family, trying to figure out out what to feature here, and we’ve seen firsthand just how impactful these stories can be. Banned books have helped our children think more critically about the world around them and embrace new ideas. As parents, these books have helped us find an opening to age appropriate conversations about important topics. Also, now our oldest thinks PEN America is Captain America. Pretty much the same thing, right?
So if you’ve read this far, thank you. If you’ve read our newsletter from the beginning, this is your first time, or somewhere in between, thank you. If you’ve trusted us with the opportunity to interview you about your book, your work as an activist, or shared your opinion for one of our reels, thank you. You’ve inspired us, encouraged us, and motivated us to keep going.
We’ll continue to bring awareness to the books and perspectives that they’re trying to silence. We’ll continue to look for the helpers and elevate their stories in hopes of inspiring more helpers.
Join us on Sunday, July 13th!
Live in Southern California and free to hang out this weekend? We are organizing our first ever event and doing it in partnership with WAVE!
Join us for a family-friendly afternoon to celebrate the freedom to read. We’ll have elected officials leading a banned book storytime, a book fair with a local bookstore, crafts and more. It’s in Mission Viejo, CA and you can RSVP here. We’ll be there talking about banned books and handing out Once Upon a Ban stickers. Bring the family and say hello!