Farewell, Austin!

Back in NYC, after a whirlwind film shoot & fundraiser in the Lonestar State

One of life's greatest pleasures is to be surrounded by gracious, interesting people, to listen to their stories, share a few of your own and marvel at how much good we do when we come together.

From left to right: Jenny Erikson, Vanessa Steinkamp, Emily Burns, Natalya Murakhver, Scott Davison

The past four days in Austin were exactly this way, even as I trudged along, with a bad cold that simply wouldn't leave me and Stephanie kindly brought me countless sparkling waters, Gatorades and hot teas to help me kick myself back into gear.

We premiered the trailer for our documentary to some tears and positive feedback. We are making final edits and will share it on our YouTube Channel very soon so please subscribe here. We did some great interviews in Austin, including a guided visit to a digital addiction recovery center, where people aged seventeen and up are supported in recovering from screen addiction.

Stephanie filming at Omega Recovery, a Digital Addiction Center

We were joined at our fundraiser by friends from Dallas and Southern California and met new local friends in Austin, a vibrant college town that really loves their college football team, the Longhorns. Before we headed home on Sunday, we visited the University of Texas college campus, which was buzzing with energy as the Longhorns were playing a home game that day.

It was heartening to see a college town that has resumed normalcy (no Covid mandates at UT, per just re-elected Governor Abbott’s Executive Order). Contrasted with the sorry state of East & West Coast colleges, some of whom still have mask and booster mandates— it’s a world apart.

The great highlight of the trip was time we spent with Emily Burns, who is now a member of the Restore Childhood board, and a contributor to our Substack — in addition to her own (subscribe here). We had such a great experience interviewing her (very patient) family and we’re looking forward to sharing their stories with you!

Have a great week!

-Natalya & Dana