We have important news to share with you. Three esteemed writers and activists — V (formerly Eve Ensler), Maxine Hong Kingston, and Gloria Steinem — are joining us to make sure this important fund drive is a success.

• V generously donated $5,000 to get the campaign off to a rousing start, saying, “Often, the exact moment women come into their greatest wisdom, insight, and brilliance is the moment when they are erased by the culture. I am so grateful to Persimmon Tree for being the antidote that lifts and celebrates our voices.”
• Gloria Steinem agrees: “in this youth-obsessed culture, it’s so good to have a place where women can share a longer life experience.”
• Maxine Hong Kingston added her voice to theirs: “Autumn is persimmon season, the time when the fruits of the persimmon tree takes on more lusciousness the longer they age. Just so, Persimmon Tree gives you the creations of women at our wisest and most artful.”

We are in for some dark times, and Persimmon Tree is a light in that inexorably gathering darkness. It is the voice of women over 60 – women who are strong, independent, and immensely talented. We need their voices now more than ever. We need their experience, their wisdom, and their perspective as we have never needed it before. And Persimmon Tree is the only place where you can find those voices consistently and powerfully.

As you think about your gift, please check the gift chart below to see how many more gifts we estimate we’ll need to reach the goal:

Especially in the coming few years, Persimmon Tree’s messages from women artists will be more important than ever, reaching more women and allies and supporters of women. We must make sure that the voices of strong, older women of every race, every nationality, every orientation and gender, are heard. With more voices being silenced, please help keep your (our) voices strong.

If you have never donated, we welcome your first gift. If you have donated before, as you renew your gift please consider increasing your gift. If you have already donated this year, please consider making an additional gift.

To pay using Zelle, address your donation to publisher@persimmontree.org and note in the memo line that it is a donation. To pay with a credit card, you can click here.

Or, if you would prefer to contribute by check, you can do so by making out your check to Persimmon Tree and mailing it to –

At a time when more publications are cutting back, your generous gift will ensure that Persimmon Tree – the only online magazine devoted entirely to the contributions of women over 60 – will continue publishing and raising up women’s voices.

Remember V’s words – “I am so grateful to Persimmon Tree for being the antidote that lifts and celebrates our voices.” And join with her, Gloria Steinem, and Maxine Hong Kingston in acknowledging the importance of Persimmon Tree and its unique mission by making your gift today.

OUR GENEROUS DONORS

Here is a list of the major and most loyal donors to Persimmon Tree. We are grateful to all our donors, no matter the size of your gifts. But, in this era of rising costs, and with Persimmon Tree growing and developing in new and exciting ways, our need for support has grown, too. If your name is on this list, you have our deepest thanks. If it isn’t yet, do think about increasing your donation so we can add it!

We try to ensure that this list is as complete and accurate as it can be, but if you see any errors, or if anyone’s name is missing, please let us know, and we’ll make a correction as soon as we can.

Leading Donors

Hidden Girls

by Julia MacDonnell

In 1967, when teenaged Julia MacDonnell relinquished her son to closed adoption, she understood she'd never see him again and would always keep this secret.  Fast forward half a century when an email from him shows up in her queue.  Hidden Girls tells how her jubilation about this reconnection upended her life.  Julia is forced to grapple with her memories of love for her lost child, and of coercive manipulations by her family and Catholic Charities. MacDonnell was compelled to tell her story after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade because of her fear that women would again lose control of their reproductive rights. "A visceral, moving account of adoption and the systems that prioritize profit and propriety over people." - Kirkus Reviews "... an important beautifully-told accounting of a terrible history, and a timely warning that we not repeat its mistakes." - Kathryn Joyce, author of The Child Catchers "... a beautiful, powerful, and truth-telling story…I was struck by how it is both every birth mother's story and a story that is completely unique to the author." - Marylee MacDonald, birth mother, and author of Surrender Available from Amazon, Bookshop, and BookBaby.

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