Journalist Ada Calhoun covered Rise in Fusion, writing: “Nora McCarthy is a natural narrator. Even popping popcorn in a microwave down the hall from her modest office on Manhattan’s West 27th Street, the blond 40-year-old, wearing a white eyelet shirt, light pants and blue sandals, is preternaturally calm and methodical: “Huh, that was just three pops. I’m going to reset the timer… This bowl isn’t quite big enough… Hmm, how about this one? Okay, that sounds done.” An ability to put the world into a logical order with a beginning, middle, and end is something she doesn’t take for granted. Teaching that skill has become her life’s work.

“I write my story to change my life,” reads one postcard over McCarthy’s desk. Another says, “Your story matters to me.” Founded by McCarthy in 2005, Rise has a deceptively simple mission: the group publishes a tri-annual print and online magazine by and for parents in the child welfare system. READ MORE>>>