Our Will Power is a project by mother and son team Janice and Brandon Will, both disabled in different ways, writing from both sides of the caregiving relationship, and participating in advocacy to address ableism, ageism, and our country’s inadequate care infrastructure. Using writing and other creative media, our mission is to create space for ourselves and those facing similar circumstances to remember the fullness of who we are and have been, beyond our roles giving and receiving care: Our many forms of grief and inspiration. Our griping, thriving, and coping. Our jubilance and joy. To create the future that’s yet to be written.
What We Do
- We write. Our collaborative memoir and other projects emerged from our adaptive writing workshops. Learn more about this manuscript, and our other works in progress.
- We advocate. We participate in movements for disability justice, and a more robust care infrastructure nationally, and have written op-eds and articles on disability and care-focused topics.
- We teach, resource & connect. We are building a community of folks in similar situations. We host a reading and performance series, feature work by other care partners in the creative arts, and share our approach to adaptive writing workshops for care partners, along with some of the disability justice and care-focused organizations and resources that have inspired us. We call this part of our work Collective Will. Learn more.
Who We Are
Brandon Will (he/him)
Brandon has published his writing in Next Avenue, along with other publications. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School, was a two-time Care Fellow with Caring Across Generations, former puppeteer with PuppetArt: the Detroit Puppet Theater, and writer/director of the indie feature Dadbot: The Movie (2004). He’s currently completing a memoir, See If I Care, that covers his hesitancy, in his mid-thirties, to become his mother’s caregiver, and then his incomprehension of what that asked of and offered him. With Janice, he’s co-authoring another non-fiction book.
Janice Will (she/her)
Janice received her journalism degree from Michigan State University in 1973, then was a field reporter and editor, serving in the role of Associate Editor for Transmission Lines, the monthly magazine for personnel of the Michigan Wisconsin Pipeline Company, before turning to freelancing while mothering three boys. Over decades, she wrote and edited countless newsletters and blogs for small businesses in Metro Detroit. Her second career owning and running a bulk mail house found her receiving the National Association of Women Business Owner’s Warrior Award in 2010.
Téa Jones-Yelvington (she/they)
Téa is a transfemme social justice worker with 17 years of experience supporting social change initiatives within and outside the nonprofit sector, and publishing, performing and curating her own and others’ poetry and prose. She appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with her beloveds Brandon and Janice, contributing writing, editing, website maintenance, event hosting, fundraising acumen, and more. Read more about her work here.
