Sara is a chronically ill parent of a young child and, until recently, the daughter of a chronically ill father. Sugar Honey Iced Tea is a description and response to the pace of some of life’s challenges: months spent nursing an infant, years spent caring for a sick body, hoping for and imagining a more equitable future, waiting for a child to fall asleep, wishing for the sun to rise, and trying to visualize the idea that, like her dad often said, we are too visceral to be intelligent. 

About the authors: 

Ileana M. Ramirez is Sara’s cousin. Sugar Honey Iced Tea is her first book. Ileana is a healthcare strategist, writer, and budding librarian. Her work is focused on telling intersectional women’s stories and championing health equity and access. Ileana lives in Virginia Beach with her husband, four children, dog, and ever-expanding piles of books.

Sara J. Winston is Ileana’s cousin. Sara is the author of several books including A Lick and a Promise (Candor Arts, 2017). A second edition of A Lick and A Promise is forthcoming with For the Birds Trapped in Airports later this year. Sara is an artist, writer, and accessibility advocate. She works with photographs, text, and the book form to describe and respond to chronic illness and its ongoing impact on her body, mind, family, and memory. Sara lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband, daughter, and their dog. 

Published by For the Birds Trapped in Airports
(July 2025)
Paperback edition


For the Birds Trapped in Airports is an imprint, bindery, and space where learning happens. We publish books in a collectivist profit-sharing model between artists, supporting them with collaboratively designed handmade editions in a long-term mutual support framework.