From the Editor

Sisters by blood.
Sisters by love.
Sisters born of sweat and tears.

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From the time we started planning this issue, these phrases began rolling through my head. Perhaps I’ve read them somewhere, or heard something similar, but they just seemed to encapsulate all the ways we as women create the meaningful connections we need and crave.

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I am lucky to have all of these types of sisters. My younger sister and I are fiercely loyal to each other now, though there were times in younger years that was not the case. Something about an older sister with a need for control and information clashed with a supremely stubbon younger sister sporting a reckless streak.

I’ve had women who I fell into deep connections with and love as sisters—women I may only talk with every few months, but though we live separated by states and time, when we are together, the conversations are instantly easy and deep and real. We just get each other.

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And then there are those sisters of shared experiences. Coworkers, teammates, friends I have literally sweated and cried beside as we took on hard things together—through which we found power and fulfillment and a shared vocabulary of experiences. Runners, you know what I mean.

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You’ll find stories of all of those same relationships in these pages.

Our cover women—Tashyra Jackson and Shamawyah Curtis—are middle school frenemies turned best friends who have created an entire organization based on fostering connections among women that build them up and empower community-building. The small groups hosted by Hope Restores provide space for women and girls, from age 5 on up, to share stories and develop relationships that validate their own experiences.

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Sisters-by-birth Dani Peterslie and Azia Thelemann have recognized their individual strengths and joined them in family entrepreneurial pursuits that allow each to put their talents to work.

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You’ll learn about women who have created a sisterhood around the shared challenges and rollercoaster ride of parenting. Friends Sue Ann Davis-Mitley and Mary Kay Lind have shared the grief of one of the greatest tragedies a parent can imagine, yet are side-by-side 10 years later propping each other up whenever the grief comes back around.

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Join sisters Trina Schlifer and Tracy Doyle, and two more generations of their family, for a holiday baking tradition that will warm your soul with sprinkle-laden sugar cookies, laughter over mishaps and memories that never grow cold.

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Conversation, stories and connections are just as vital to the health of the members of the Mothers’ Unity dance group at the Hmong Community Cultural Center as the music and heart-strengthening movement the regular dance classes provide. The multigenerational group gives women from their 20s into their 60s a chance to slow down when they aren’t dancing and create relationships that matter. 

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Some sister relationships are based on giving, on looking for meaning beyond yourself. Among the best of these you’ll find the Big Sisters who spend time mentoring girls and young women and giving them just one more member of the circle of support cheering them on as they grow.

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Laurie Sullivan and Michele Pettit are two more “sisters” who sought out community and service—they are part of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, a La Crosse-based order that has been a foundation of local institutions such as Viterbo University and the former Franciscan Hospital. While today’s Sisters have roles that have evolved beyond teachers and nurses, the organization’s members continue to place their focus on service, social justice and faith.

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Coulee Region Women magazine is itself a sisterhood. As a staff, we share the trials of our lives—from the sleepless nights of early parenthood to the “joys” of menopause and the challenge of reinventing as retirement opens doors to even more opportunities. Our advertisers are strong advocates for other women in business, offering referrals, supporting one another’s enterprises and recognizing that together we all do better.

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A part of our stated mission is “to connect with each other and the community. The goal is to develop stronger, healthier and happier women, families and community.” We are proud to include our readers in our sisterhood. We are all better together.