Katie Rose Guest Pryal taught at the university level for twelve years without ever considering seeking disability accommodations. As a law professor, she knew her disability would have been legally recognized. And yet, she did not “out” herself as a person with a psychological disability until she left academia and … Read More
Category: non-fiction
“A ratio of failures is built into the process of writing.”
Margaret Atwood continues, “The wastebasket has evolved for a reason.” This morning, a student described how difficult writing was for her. She’s not alone. One thing that hasn’t changed over the decades I’ve worked with students is the expectation that writing should be easier than it is. They’re surprised to … Read More
“We must learn to hold the tension between the reality of the moment and the possibility that something better might emerge.”
Sometimes, it looks like we have two choices: up or down, agree or disagree, fight or flight. There is a third way, though, Parker Palmer reminds us. Instead of trying to resolve every tension quickly, consider “allowing opposing ideas to enrich and enlarge each other until a new vision emerges” … Read More
“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”
It’s been a long winter for many of us; we’re weighed down by boots, shovels, and ice scrapers. If you are looking for words of encouragement, consider Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance.” It is (among other things) a pep talk for creative people who are wondering if they can … Read More
Best Books of 2018: Five Favorites
The books I have recommended most often to my friends this year are:
Pioneers! Strong families! Resourcefulness! I’ve always been drawn to the stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I’ve often recommended her books to those who are learning to write memoirs. I’m rethinking all of that after reading Prairie … Read More
“From elementary through graduate school, we receive little guidance for the inner journey . . .”
Parker Palmer continues, “even though Socrates – the patron saint of education – regarded self-examination as key to a life worth living.” I couldn’t agree more. Because Parker Palmer has been a steady advocate of doing the “silent, solitary process of reflection” for nearly 50 years, he is the … Read More
“Lincoln came close to killing himself in January 1841.”
In Flourish, Martin Seligman uses Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill as examples of “severe depressives” who learned to function well even when they were massively depressed. Shouldn’t more people learn how to do this? Yes, says Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association and founder of the positive … Read More
“In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of nation we are and what direction we want to move in.”
When it seems that division and anger characterize many so many conversations, it helps to look back to see how we made it through terrible times before. This week’s quote comes from a speech given by Robert F. Kennedy three hours after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Speaking… Read More
“Neuroscience has now provided preliminary confirmation that long-term meditators have structural differences in brain areas associated with metacognition and interoception.”
Would you like a guided tour through research on how the brain works? This book is one of about eight published in 2018 that you might find exciting. I’m drawn to this topic because reading about neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to change its structure and patterns of activity – … Read More
“The trends are also remarkably consistent: loneliness, depressive symptoms, major depressive episodes, anxiety, self-injury, and suicide are all on the rise, mostly since 2011.”
Today I heard Dr. Twenge give a presentation to college faculty members on the characteristics of people who were born after 1995. The questions that followed were remarkable for two reasons. First, there was broad acceptance of her research-backed claim that our youngest students are experiencing a rising level of… Read More
“You have to turn now to all the other wounded people around you, and find a way to connect with them.”
When Johann Hari comes to the final chapter in his book on depression, he offers the advice that he wishes he had received when he was diagnosed with clinical depression decades ago. He believes that instead of focusing on “chemical imbalances” we should focus on “power imbalances” that lead to … Read More
“As a refugee from Vietnam who grew up in a poor and violent area of Philadelphia, my life changed dramatically when I enrolled at Harvard College.”
When Due Quach was a new student at Harvard, she didn’t have much to add to her classmates’ conversations about their vacations. She had never been on one. Starting at age eight, she had worked almost every day at her family’s take-out restaurant, which was in a high-crime neighborhood of … Read More
“The one that was accepted would then be rewritten ten times as I received round after round of notes.”
I believe that everyone who is contemplating making a living as a writer should read “Nonfiction, an Introduction,” a short essay in This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Ann Patchett describes being allowed to write one of ten ideas that she would present to her magazine editors, and … Read More
“No other river in the world can match the Danube for the sheer historical richness of the cities and landscapes through which it passes.”
As an American, I haven’t thought much about the many roles that rivers have played in other parts of the world. In The Danube: A Cultural History, Andrew Beattie argues convincingly that when travelling the Danube, you are taking not just a geographical journey, but a political, linguistic, philosophical, … Read More
“Constanze took to cutting his meat at table so he wouldn’t slice up his fingers.”
Mozart was famously fidgety – he constantly drummed his fingers and was unable to even wash his hands without pacing. Apparently, Mozart’s wife Constanze didn’t trust him with a knife because he was prone to injuring himself. So, in addition to being one of the world’s greatest composers, Mozart was … Read More