Laura Anderson

Laura Anderson lives in Catskill, NY and has a one year old daughter named Piper. She narrated her life history on June 6, 2013 at Solaris, 360 Warren Street, Hudson, NY. When her daughter was born, Laura saved the placenta and dried it, and developed a ritual of placing a piece of it in all the places she feels like she is from so that she may later tell her daughter about it. Throughout the interview, Laura expressed a strong connection to place, and articulated her passion for working with families and communities to build creative and empowering spaces for children. She grew up in a small town in the mountains and remembers feeling isolated, excited, and stifled as a teenager, and recalls the sense that she had to navigate a lot of lies. She said that her daughter is teaching her to be more present, more patient, and to laugh a lot more, and she hopes to teach Piper to love with an open heart and to have as little fear as possible. She talked about co-parenting and how she and her partner are now challenged to figure out who they are with each other, who they are for each other, and how to deal with anger, resentment, forgiveness, and not having enough time. She wants to work on getting back to herself when she is with him, and to be more joyful and loving in life. She believes conflict can be generative and is grappling with what she calls a grim determination that she feels comes from the women in her family and the ways in which they have struggled. Laura concludes the interview by saying that she would like to ask her mother what brings her joy in life.