Ep 94 - Ancestral Inheritance in the Diaspora with Lisa Factora - Borchers

“The deeper you look into your ancestry, you will see both.” - Lisa Factora-Borchers

In today's episode, we have Lisa Factora-Borchers, a Filipinx American writer, activist, and co-publisher of Guernica magazine. She was recognized by Rewire. News as one of the five revolutionary Asian American activists who are leading the fight for reproductive freedom. She is a board member for Zora’s House, an entrepreneurial think tank and haven for women of color, and a political thought leader for OPAWL (Ohio Progressive Asian Women’s Leadership). She cofounded and cofacilitates a healing justice group Feminist Grounding where AAPI women and nonbinary folx reflect upon the intersecting points of identity, trauma, and liberation. Lisa is also the founder of The End Writers Collective, a decolonizing-in-practice community space for BIPOC writers finishing their literary manuscripts.

In this conversation, Leslieann and Lisa talk about what love really is, about Catholicism and indigenous spiritual practices, the friendships that die, and how ancestral inheritance--both trauma AND abundance-- ties it all together. When one’s ancestor survives being a prisoner of war, what is passed down? How can we carry forward the abundance and transmute the trauma into ways that can uplift our descendants?

Listen in to this very rich conversation between two Pinays who live in the Diaspora and understand the world and the idea of home from a “neither here nor there” perspective.

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Follow me on Instagram for Maverick Mondays, Free Verse Fridays, and some real talk about healing, poetry, AND play: @leslieannhobayan or email me at leslieann@suryagian.com

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

• “I Want Both Of Us” by Hafiz
• “Elegy For A Song Between” by Jennifer Kwon Dobbs

Courses/Exclusive Content Mentioned:

• Joyful Meditation : https://suryagian.com/joyful-meditation
• The Story of Joy: https://suryagian.com/subscribe