5 Days of Gratitude Zine

Hello Friends and Curious Onlookers!

I am excited to share my 5 Days of Gratitude Journal with folks on the outside. During my incarceration, I have cultivated a practice of being intentional with finding and appreciating the good, positive, and beauty within myself and others. This shift in mindset has helped me build resiliency which keeps me connected to my sense of self and creativity.

While creating this zine I thought about the resiliency of the dandelion. It is marked by its ability to survive, sprouting up through the cracks and blooming in hostile soil... The dandelion does not stop growing because it's called a weed.

Sometimes I reflect, "When I'm out I'll do this... or I'll finally feel..." but behind concrete walls I've been blooming all along. I have been growing despite being treated as a weed needing to be ripped from community.

This is the power of gratitude. It allows me to see my current situation with a duel perspective. I can joyfully live in the moment and hope for a better tomorrow. That is my wish for you as well. To cultivate gratitude and bloom into who you are meant to be: fully loved and respected.

-Lauren Handy, Alexandria Detention Center

Printable Zine: This download will give you a PDF to print out and fold into the booklet that you can see in the video below. When printing, be sure to select “double-sided, short-edge binding” in order for your formatting to be correct!

Read Only Zine: This download will provide you with a PDF that contains each page. If you print this, it will be full size pages with no folding required, or you can use this version to view on your phone!