As many of you know, my beloved mom Leanne went into cardiac arrest on April 18th, fought for her life for two weeks in the ICU, and ultimately passed away on May 6th of this year. It was unexpected and sudden — Megan and I had just been having fun with her in Santa Rosa days before she got sick. In the shadow of this gigantic heartbreak, a smaller, frustrating heartbreak happened: when Mom's heart stopped in her sleep, I was three days away from starting work on the first studio movie of my career.

Mom was so amped for me. When I booked it, she said, "Your hard work is about to pay off, I know it." I have the text screenshotted on my phone and have been returning to it again and again. We had been dreaming of this kind of financial stability for years — years of day jobs and Off-Broadway contracts and SAG strikes and self tapes and a housing crisis and COVID-19 and terror about rent, health insurance, student loan payments.

With humility and a not-insignificant amount of shame, I am trying to raise money to replace the frankly life-saving funds I would have made shooting, to stay in NYC and keep making the kind of art I want to make. I can't express enough how moved Megan and I were to see how many of you donated to help us pay for Mom's obituary, cremation, and funeral — I am so humbled to know I am surrounded by this astonishing community.

The number of people who need help right now is so gigantic. My need is a tiny piece of that. I love you for even reading. For real. If you are able to give at all, that is amazing. If you are not able to give, I totally understand.

(P.S., because I feel like I need to say it, the timing of Mom's death was fucking crazy, but would there ever have been good timing? I would trade my career and everything I own if it meant having her back, just for one hug, just for a final conversation, a final chance to hear her voice. I will be missing her for the rest of my life.)

Anyway. Thanks for reading this far. I am trying to coach myself through the process of asking for help in this way and am not finding it easy. It is my sincerest hope to be able to pay this help back, to be able to thank you in person, to be able to hold my community the way you have held me. Thank you, thank you. Thank you.