The standard of care for decades for children who had suffered a loss did not help. Thinking it was best, adults urged children to move past their loss as quickly as possible. Mourning was broken. “Children have always been the forgotten grievers,” said Andy McNiel, executive director of the National Alliance for Grieving Children. “The […]
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Posted inQuotes
'There are patterns in the language that are the language of suicide'
Back in the 1970s, as part of his own research, Shneidman asked a group of men at a union hall, “If you were going to commit suicide, what would you write?” The union hall experiment was, by contemporary research standards, ethically ambiguous at best. “You couldn’t do that today,” Pestian says. But the notes turned […]
Posted inGuest Pick, Nonfiction
'The Lost Girls of Rocky Mount': A Guest Pick by Douglas Williams
Douglas Williams is currently a doctoral student in political science at the University of Alabama, where his research centers around public policy and politics as it relates to disadvantaged communities and the labor movement. You can find him on Twitter at @DougWilliams85, at a collaborative blog on Southern progressivism called The South Lawn, as well as at The […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Your Body Is a Composite of Other Beings
In recent years, research has shown that what people commonly think of as “their” bodies contain roughly 10 microbial cells for each genetically human one. The microbial mass in and on a person may amount to just a few pounds, but in terms of genetic diversity these fellow travelers overwhelm their hosts, with 400 genes […]
Posted inQuotes
How Horror Stories Are Being Created in the Digital Age
‘Daddy, I had a bad dream.’ You blink your eyes and pull up on your elbows. Your clock glows red in the darkness — it’s 3:23. ‘Do you want to climb into bed and tell me about it?’ ‘No, Daddy.’ The oddness of the situation wakes you up more fully. You can barely make out […]
Posted inNonfiction
When Mary Martin Was the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up
In the 1950s, a musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’ starring Mary Martin became a sensation, attracting the fourth biggest audience of all time for a scripted TV show when a live production was broadcast on NBC.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Why Soda Expires in the Houses of the Super-Rich
In Harper’s, John P. Davidson discusses his time at The Starkey Institute, a “butler boot camp” which certifies estate managers to work for the super-rich (the story is currently only available to magazine subscribers).
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
Reading List: When We Fall In Love
Emily Perper is a word-writing human working at a small publishing company. She blogs about her favorite longreads at Diet Coker. What does love look like and feel like and sound like to you? What have you read that changed the way you think about love? I’d like to know. Reblog your suggestions or comment […]
Posted inNonfiction
The Gothic Life and Times of Horace Walpole
Two-hundred and fifty years ago, Horace Walpole published ‘The Castle of Otranto,’ a strange, campy book that’s widely considered to be the first Gothic novel. In real life, Walpole’s family was beset by tragedy and his life’s obsession was a Gothic castle called Strawberry Hill.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
Reading List: Teenage Girls As Role Models
I’m navigating a transitional space; my role models are teenage girls.
