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Preserving a Community Is a Labor of Love

Author and artist Tiitu Takalo illustrates the perseverance required to be a part of a community.

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In Tampere, Finland, there is a neighborhood of wooden houses known as Annikki where author and artist Tiitu Takalo now resides. But her transition there was not as simple as hiring a moving truck to relocate her life. In this excerpt of Me, Mikko, and Annikki: A Community Love Story in a Finnish City, Takalo illustrates the labor of love that went into restoring not only her home, but the community around her, and the rich history that she and her partner Mikko become a part of in that process.

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