About Me — Holly Brians Ragusa
You’ve Found Me
You’ve found yourself here finding out about me, and I welcome you into the story. I’m writing for myself, for my world, for the hope of weaving something real, that may speak to others, into the narrative.
Born in Cincinnati Ohio, my Mother raised her children to be compassionate, to care about those around them and to exemplify strength through love. My fortune in having been born to such a person overwhelms me at times. My Dad and my Father take more time to explain and a memoir is currently in the works to do exactly that. My siblings and I share a complicated blend of wholes, halves and steps, the richest grind in my humble opinion.
An early and dedicated reader, I favored the page over practice and never involved myself in sports, finding myself in more creative pursuit and the arts. Books filled many empty corners in my younger mind. As an angst filled teenager, poetry flowed, trickled, then took a long hiatus and returned to me last year in full force. Writing isn’t something I ever questioned, it was always my outlet from earliest memory, however, I’ve only in the past couple years decided to dedicate myself to writing as a career.
I’ve gratefully lived to see slivers of this country and of others, travel being one of the greatest teachers. I met my soulmate on one such trip to the southwest and we married at the edge of the Grand Canyon. We’ve raised our two creative children, now young adults, to embrace this complex and beautiful world. Our family has made homes in parts of Ohio, Arizona and Georgia, returning to my hometown of Cincinnati, and now live in the heart of Over The Rhine, a historic district downtown. Mom moved in last summer.
History speaks to me, all of the unwritten stories especially. Having a social conscience has made me always aware of the underdog, the vanquished, the oppressed, the people who have lost their accounts on account of losing a war. I feel deeply for those who have had their records wiped or stolen or have little to no history written about them. Those are the stories I most like to hear. I don’t see weakness is countering the victor’s tale with another, recognizing the many people impacted when a stone is thrown into our collective pond.
Options for a girl like me born into the world in 1971 were far fewer than they are today. In 2020, I’m painfully aware of the millennia of silenced women prior to the war waged for the right to vote, assuring mine this year. I’m aware that many of our American women could not vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And here we are, one hundred years since passage of the 19th amendment and a woman of color was just elected to the second highest office in our country.
People often ask who a person is, though we are described in Whats. What I am is a daughter, sister, a wife and mother, a reader, a writer, poet, and friend, an empath, volunteer, environmentalist, mental wellness proponent, arts patron and education advocate, a feminist, activist and social justice warrior. I’m a family ringleader, a philosophical agitator, a confidant, a lover of all animals and mustards, am enchanted by the moon, hats, words, surprises and the magic of belief. I’m a believer in kindness, awareness, intention, and whatever helps you function so long as it doesn’t hurt others. I’m tied to earth cycles more than the spin cycle and I find joy and reward in overcoming myself and others.
What am I not? I’m not perfect, or patient, am not good with names. I’m not a bystander, promise breaker, or unreliable promise maker. I’m not an aggressor nor am I a complete pacifist, some injustices must be fought. I’m not powerless or hopeless and I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.
I’m hopeful of reaching readers, of making some sense of things that often seem senseless. Words do that. They can convey what we cannot and join us to something memorable and lasting.
In closing, thank you. For your time, for your attention. For reading about me.
If you read anything that made sense, I would love you to follow my journey here. And here.
Be well, take care of yourself, make room for that moment to linger over something you enjoy, hug yourself and make eye contact with another. Life is short and we are here for the living of it.
