Kristin Houlihan, Writer

#ChronicIllnessAwarenessMonth #DisabilityPrideMonth I am a writer and mom of four disabled by my chronic illness and I have a short book of #poetry for you! Written over a year in which I got progressively more sick and tried to wrap my head around that! (more purchase options in thread) Bookshop

Feeling like I’m gonna need to turn on the electric blanket. Or the heat.

The indignity of needing to have someone else cut your toenails. 😡 #ChronicIllness

It’s a lot easier to walk wearing compression tights. What I don’t get is why this wasn’t the case like two years ago. I felt like compression didn’t do anything for me for a long time

Who do I know who’s had a pelvic MRV? There is one in my near future.

Correction — leucistic raccoon. Its eyes were brown

It's #MedicaidMonday! Today, we are sharing our policy platform. We did our best to keep it simple (as simple as we can make something that was created to be intentionally complicated!). Check out our policy recommendations for states: https://ow.ly/TAot51017ZV #Medicaid #pwME #pwLC

Full of shadows & starlight, gloom & gloam & the spine-tingling delight of being up past bedtime, Issue 15: In the Dark spotlights the magic & mystery hiding in the dark. A perfect read for this Halloween week! Available now in print or free/pay-what-you-want pdf. littlethoughtspress.com/issues

Try g a different pair of compression leggings today (just trying out different kinds to see what I like). These are actual leggings not tights which I prefer buuuut they itch in an MCAS-y way. 👎 so they are coming off and going back.

Albino raccoon in my yard today. With a typically colored friend. Beautiful but please go somewhere else!

My husband and 8 yo son watched Jurassic Park last night. Kiddo roots for the dinosaurs. Cheers when they eat people 😬 🦖

I’m excited to share that Unbound—the dance film I'm in featuring people with #MECFS—will be presented at the inaugural World Deaf & Disabled Dance Film Festival, November 6-7, in San Francisco. Come see Unbound on the big screen if you're there! ybca.org/event/2026-w...

Book 168 of 2026 - Terms and Conditions: A Memoir by Amy Goldmacher. Uniquely told in second person vignettes that resemble prose poetry. Exploration of how the author’s childhood and father’s death affect her in adulthood, the journey of learning they don’t have to. #BookSky @stanchion.bsky.social

Trying out compression tights today… we’ll see. I’m worried they’re not tight enough at the ankles/calves. Thighs feel right tho so I dunno if I could size down. They’re opaque but def tights. If these work I’ll need some longer/tunic style shirts.

FIRST BABY: Lying in bed next to me while I listened to an audiobook THIRD BABY: Lying in bed next to me while I yelled, 'ONLY JUMP OVER HER BODY, PLEASE DON’T JUMP OVER HER HEAD.'

Ant whack-a-mole. No more in the dishwasher but now in the sink/on the counter. Spouse went to war with vinegar and ant bait.

I now have TWO teenagers! 15 and 13. Yikes lol

My kid’s friend went to homecoming in a fish costume. 🐠 This further supports my theory that teenagers are aliens. 👽

The simplicity of childhood is the complexity of adulthood. Nothing really changes, the voices just get louder. Ms. Hernandez did an amazing job highlighting the life we all live.

Book 167 of 2026 - Outside the Box: A Book of Poems by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Diane Good. Collection of rhyming #KidLit #poetry, mostly humorous. It’s fun and lighthearted, includes some interesting shape poems. Complementary illustrations. #BookSky www.goodreads.com/book/show/14...

Will not miss the campaign texts 🤯

I did the old person thing of extending my arm all the way to focus on the paper in my hand and my kids were like? How do you see so far away? when I said it’s blurry up close without my reading glasses my kid said, “grownups are weird” and then pointed out that Dad (same age as me) doesn’t do that

My son, this morning: Mom, can I have some bigger shirts? Me: Bigger? (Seemed at a glance that the shirt fit fine) Son: yeah, ones with sleeves that go all the way down … and that’s when I looked at his arms lol 😆 Me: yes, you can have bigger shirts 🤦‍♀️

We think we discovered where the kitchen ants are coming from — the pipes to the dishwasher. SO GROSS. We are running it to kill what’s in there and then we’ll clean the filter and we put bait along the cabinet under the dishwasher but then… can you put ant bait IN the dishwasher?

Spotlight on Issue 3: Choices Young Poet Highlight “Choices” by Bethany Hernandez, age 11 epistemiclit.com/nimblewitlit...

Meet the poets of Issue 3: Choices! @stefankarlsson.bsky.social @michnott.bsky.social @ianbrownlie.bsky.social @rburrows.bsky.social @shaunjexauthor.bsky.social Nila Erin Zampaglione Bethany Hernandez

I have a hole in my tooth. Filling fell out a while ago. I can’t really ignore it anymore. I’m less afraid of crashing from a trip out than I am of reactions to local anasthesia, which I know I’ll need. Grr. #MECFS #MCAS #LongCovid

Compression leggings — is graduated or uniform compression better? Prob depends on your issue. I could try both?

You know what doesn't get enough love? Horror short stories. From today through Halloween, I'll update this thread with Horror short story recommendations. Stuff you can read in a sitting while feeling like the shadows are watching.

Blog post about the @epistemiclit.bsky.social and @nimblewitlit.bsky.social issues, plus a question about #KidLit Read the post, sure, but really, read the issues bc they’re awesome! kristinhoulihan.com/2026/10/22/c...

We authors and illustrators, often some of the most introverted people in the world, have been getting in-depth crash courses in our local, state, and national legislative processes, and we are forming strong, successful coalitions to keep our books accessible. www.authorsagainstbookbans.org

@authorsabb.bsky.social merch!! www.rayguncustom.com/collections/...

Spotlight on Issue 3 - Interview with @jengelmattern.bsky.social about her new book, Where the Light Shines In Perks of being the editor’s kid, two of my kids read an ARC and asked some questions. They both rate the book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and say you should read it! epistemiclit.com/nimblewitlit...

Book 166 of 2026: Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King. I am in love with this book! Approaches #censorship, #activism, and a host of other important issues from the POV of a very blunt 6th grader, which is genius. And often funny (I laughed a lot). #KidLit #BookSky #FreedomToRead

Health education isn't inappropriate. Curiosity isn't dangerous. And knowing your body shouldn't be controversial. This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let's protect the freedom to read, learn, and make informed decisions about our health. #breastcancerawareness #freedomtoread

"If we look at ME..we've known about it quite clearly for over 100 years. To step back and acknowledge they could end up with this horrific disease...we don't want to imagine we treated patients poorly for that long. I think science has had its eyes closed to the disease, to post-viral illnesses.."

My kids unabashedly choose the fun dip 😆 More seriously, tho - read on for some trends from the issue!

Our beautiful cover art

Bah. Ants in the kitchen. Gel bait should be here within two hours. Thank you, Home Depot. Grossness.

Kid: can we do x tomorrow? Me: I’m not sure, maybe Kid: Depends how you’re feeling? Me: exactly Kid (hugging me): see I know And they do, all my kids. Doesn’t mean it’s easy for them but they know. #LongCovid #MECFS

I don’t know any babies but I wish I did! Such a beautiful hat!

Today was a rough one, physically. Cried a little again (second time this week). Thing is, I’ve been so much worse in the past — just struggling this week with the incessant and unpredictable nature of this illness. #LongCovid #MECFS

Calling 5-13 y/o kids! 📱 Lit Kids needs writing, art, and photography for Issue 12: Fantasy by 11/7! We can't craft our newest issue without your submissions, so please send your work our way and help spread the word. Keep shining! ✨ www.litkidsmagazine.com/submissions #parents #teachers #kidlit

This year Massachusetts passed Freedom to Read legislation after two years of advocacy by AABB members and others. Read about how we did it here:

Happy Friday Friends! Here are your assignments for the next few weeks: 1. Make sure you are registered to vote 2. Get to know your ballot 3. Focus on a race/referendum & do what you can to protect/expand the right to read 4. Notice & celebrate the community this work creates! 5. Find joy in books!

Readers of #BookSky. We give to you! The new AABB website! (OK, you don't have to be as excited as we are, but still give it a look.) We've improved a few things including...

It's #PrisonBannedBooksWeek October 19-25! Raising awareness of this most pervasive practice of censorship in the US, the 3rd annual Prison Banned Books Week brings together over 60 organizations working for free expression. For more info, check out prisonbannedbooksweek.org

I’m excited to share this interview about Where the Light Shines In that’s featured in the latest issue of Nimblewit Magazine! 💜💜💜 @nimblewitlit.bsky.social @epistemiclit.bsky.social epistemiclit.com/nimblewitlit...

Very happy to have my poem Hobby House in Choices - the latest edition of the lovely @nimblewitlit.bsky.social #poetry #kidlit #poetryforkids #poetryforchildren @epistemiclit.bsky.social