THE FORTY FESTIVAL
SARI EDELSTEIN
Provenance: Chicago, IL
How We Met: Krishna met Sari and her family at a playground when our daughters were one. I was in Ohio, and he called me and said "I found a friend for you."
On Her Nightstand: Second Place by Rachel Cusk
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Ask Her About: feminist literature, dark novels, the Boston Book Festival, the Andover Scholars program, and a really good love story.
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MISCHA SHATTUCK
Provenance: Tri-cities, WA
How We Met: At a baby music class with our daughters. She had a great wave to the 'Hello' song, and hosted the most over the top birthday party I had ever attended and I was impressed.
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On Her Nightstand: Midnight Library by Matt Haig, Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (but she says they're "just ok")
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Ask Her About: humanitarian disasters, beauty pageants, life stories of anyone she has ever met, wilderness firefighting, and near death experiences. Also baking.
ELSIE HUANG
Provenance: South Bend, IN
How We Met: Her kid screamed the loudest and the longest at the first day of preschool, and Elsie was not fazed at all and I thought "yeah, this lady is the real deal"
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On Her Nightstand: everything. She's a machine. I made her describe her schedule by the hour once and I still can't figure out how she reads so much.
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Ask Her About: the AP calculus exam, extreme organizational skills, foraging food, and any book you've ever heard of. Also, art projects.
SERENA THOMAS
Provenance: Victoria, British Columbia
How We Met: We were roommates in 10th grade with Whitney Katirai and we both have hippie moms, and really like sports and R&B.
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On Her Nightstand: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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Ask Her About: biking, humanitarian aid work, trauma resiliency, working the suicide hotline, massage, the world's largest friend diaspora, and dating in NYC.
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THALITA MARINHO
Provenance: Salvador, Brazil
How We Met: We were 14 and she was wearing a bright red sweater and she watched me run my overflowing luggage cart into the Arrivals door at the Victoria, BC airport.
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On Her Nightstand: All the Brains in the Business: The Engendered Brain in 21st Century Organization, Mrs Dalloway by Viriginia Woolf
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Ask Her About: the total area of Brazil, being a female boss, psychoanalysis, and her marriage proposal. Also, this video.
ELIZA KENNEDY
Provenance: Belmont, MA
How We Met: We lived next to her mother in our first house. Then we sold that house to Liza and Carsten, and we ran a half-marathon together.
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On Her Nightstand: the Feeling Good Handbook, The Education of an Idealist, Uncanny Valley, Commonwealth, How to Be an Anti-Racist, Such a Fun Age, and many many partially read New Yorkers.
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Ask Her About: rowing, Teach for America, being an amazing friend, her turnaround from workout to Zoom meeting, and CBT.
WHITNEY KATIRAI
Provenance: Louisville, KY
How We Met: We were roommates in 10th grade with Serena Thomas. She had Laura Ashley blue and green floral matching sheets, towels, bag, duvet, and umbrella.
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On Her Nightstand: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett and Firekeepers Daughter by Angeline Boulley
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Ask Her About: health behaviors, how to get anything monogramed, searching for dead mice, the the Emirates, Papua New Guinea, and being her own general contractor.
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ANISA KLINE
Provenance: Yellow Springs, OH
How We Met: It's been a journey from here to here to here.
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On Her Nightstand: Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsudo (stolen from me!), next up are Popisho by Leone Ross and Deacon King Kong by James McBride
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Ask Her About: Farm workers, advice columns, the BREAD organization, and her summer internship. Also, about generally being a non-conformist, animal totems, and altars.
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JULIETTE LORD
Provenance: Niantic, CT
How We Met: It's a little hazy, but she was the stuff of legends at Maxwell. We shared a deep desire to learn to do a handstand and practiced relentlessly, to no avail.
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On Her Nightstand: Gaia's Garden: A guide to home scale permaculture, Untamed by Glennon Doyle, and Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi
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Ask Her About: veganism (don't worry, you won't regret it), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, fitness bets, South America, and to sing Stewball for you.
UZMA YASIN
Provenance: Gothenburg, Sweden
How We Met: Uzma is the better half of our med school classmate, Zayed. Uzma's winning personality more than compensated for his infamous lack of tact.
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On Her Nightstand: Boy by Roald Dahl, Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance
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Ask Her About: Running your own business, the deeper questions of life, surprise babies, how much better Sweden is as a country, and her secret to being a delightful person.
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CECILY EPSTEIN
Provenance: Litchfield, CT
How We Met: On a freezing playground during an interminable parent-help day at preschool,.
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On Her Nightstand: The latest New Yorker, Loving You to Pieces (essay collection on caring for a child with special needs), The Children's Bible by Lydia Millett,
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Ask Her About: residential ski high school, sailing, anything New England, her VW van, salads, and generally being a preschool hero.
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MARTHA ROTHBAUM
Provenance: St. Louis, MO
How We Met: at the get-to-know-you summer playdate for pre-K at the Belmont Day School. 5 years later, she's still my only friend at Belmont Day.
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On Her Nightstand: Pachinko, The Children's Bible, Passing, A Place For Us, Saint X, Lincoln in the Bardo, James and the Giant Peach
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Ask Her About: coaching, New York City, giving good advice, fresh starts, and being married to an extrovert
ERANTHIE MENDIS
Provenance: Galle, Sri Lanka
How We Met: We have similar taste in men.
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On Her Nightstand: The Shame by Makenna Goodman
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Ask Her About: being the daughter of a preacher man, her cinnamon farm, substitute teaching, being the perfect houseguest, running a hostel, community building, urban planning, gardening, and how to make a dollar stretch.
AMY SMITH
Provenance: Palacios, Honduras
How We Met: I forcibly displaced her roommate in 11th grade.
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On Her Nightstand: "ALOT of Baha'i books" including one about Angus Cowan, and Prescription for Living by Ruhiyyih Khanum
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Ask Her About: growing up in a jungle, Feed to Heal, her new house, and how hot she was in med school.
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