My Good News Isn’t What You Think It Is
“You’re pregnant!”
That’s the response I’ve received, over and over again, when I’ve called a friend or family member to say that I have “good news” or “big news.”
“No,” I tell them, “I’ve been nominated for a journalism award” or “Jeremy [my husband] won an Emmy” or “We bought an apartment.” To which the person on the other end of the line always seems a bit let down. Sometimes it feels as if the only accomplishment worth sharing is having a baby on the way, which we don’t; it’s as if everything else pales in comparison.
Maybe it does. I’ve never been pregnant. I wouldn’t know.
But what I do know is that most of the women in my life have a lot to celebrate other than their pregnancies and their children: One of my girlfriends, a talented musician, is recording a new album; another one, a mother of four, has taken up competitive weightlifting; another still got a big new job, after an extended period of unemployment. (Not surprisingly, some advised her to take advantage of the time off, and have a baby.)
Becoming a mother is a cause for celebration; it’s not the only cause for celebration. But so long as that’s lost on so many, my good news will come without a preface.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
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