A silhouette of a woman against the sun with her arm up in the air in defiance.

We Witches

This recent Halloween, I found myself reflecting on the women—and a few men—in my family tree who were accused of witchcraft. Among them, two were executed, and others were falsely imprisoned, stigmatized, or became social outcasts.

Fuck. I’m old.

It was like telling me I hit some abstract milestone that, until that point, seemed imaginary. None of it seemed real. She reminded me that I’ll be fifty next year. I wasn’t ready to hear that.