“It is time for us all to decide who we are.” This line, from the musical Les Miserablés, has been ringing in my head since the images from the Capitol insurrection yesterday. In case you missed it (who could?) Trump supporters took Trump’s call to action and turned it into a physical threat against our […]
history
Where The Story Starts
Where a story starts is almost never the beginning. A memoir starts at the end and remembers backward. A novel starts at the moment of change. A nonfiction book starts with the point it wishes to prove. We, too, are always starting in the middle. Even at the moment of our birth, we have a […]
9 Amazing Books About American History
Happy 4th of July! In honor of this patriotic holiday, I’d like to share 9 books in my favorite category: American history in fiction and narrative nonfiction. All of these books capture the American spirit and prevailing attitudes of their time. They are great reads for people who love history, for those who love studying human […]
A Happier Perspective On Donald Trump’s Presidency
Readers, if there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I love getting a shift in perspective. A slight twist of the lens, a zoom in or out, some new information provided: I feel a deep thrill to have an issue freshened, a story given new dimension. (In another life, I might have been a […]
This Is My Mission For The Next 4 Years
Like many of you, I’ve spent the last several days thinking about the next four years, and what they will bring. We are on the cusp of big changes to our society and the governing of our country that will force each of us to evaluate what we believe, and figure out how to enact […]
Happy 5th Anniversary!
Today is my blog-aversary. I’ve been writing and running this blog for five years. I’ve been thinking about how I’d like to celebrate this milestone, and I decided to tell you how the blog got started, since most of you weren’t around for its inception. And none of you- not even my family- knows about […]