Welcome to Laura Fralich Writes

Musings on motherhood, grief, history, belonging, justice and my role within all of it.

I was born and raised in New Gloucester, Maine and moved back to my hometown with my husband to raise our family here. I am now a teacher at our local high school and I have been involved in various town committees, local political campaigns and organizing groups. I love my community and am deeply committed to making it a more welcoming, livable and equitable place for everyone.

I started writing editorials in 2020 after George Floyd's death in the depths of COVID when I had a newborn and wanted to find a way to use my voice to raise awareness about how national issues of race and police violence related to our small, rural, mostly white community. I did not feel comfortable going to rallies with a newborn in the middle of a pandemic so I decided to write down some of my thoughts. I wrote my first article about Malaga Island and our town's direct role in a history of racial violence in our state. I was shocked at how much my writing resonated with others trying to understand their place in the world so I kept writing.

In the spring of 2024, my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died six weeks later. I started writing more personal essays to process the legacy of his life and my own grief, as well as figure out how to show up as my authentic self for those who needed me. My personal essays explore grief, motherhood, belonging, and the challenges of navigating tumultuous times.

I write articles that are deeply personal to me and my community and try to locate myself within the larger history and social-politcal context. I hope that my writing will inspire others to think about their own role in their community, the power of stories and the issues that are important to them.

My essays and opinion pieces have appeared in The Boston Globe, The Portland Press Herald, The Lewiston Sun Journal, the Bangor Daily News, the Portland Phoenix, and the Maine Educator Magazine.