This October 2014 New York Times investigation by C.J. Chivers is about more than just the discovery of old chemical weapons in Iraq—it’s about how shabbily we still treat our troops when they return home. We leave our all-volunteer army with inadequate medical care, emotional trauma, and fragile families. Here are six stories on our […]
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Posted inBlog Post, Nonfiction, Reading List
Kay Redfield Jamison, William Styron and the True Stories of Mental Illness
“For individuals who live with moods that change often and intensely, life is a tempestuous experience.”
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Power of Reddit as a Public Health Advocacy Tool
Writing for Backchannel, Andrew McMillen recently profiled a woman named Tracey Helton. Helton—a former heroin addict who now works as a public health advocate—has taken to Reddit to advocate harm reduction strategies among addicts and to distribute the overdose-reversing drug naloxone. Dubbed the “mother of r/opiates,” Helton’s program “illustrates the unexpected good that can emerge from darker corners of […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
How Japan Prepared to Care for Its Rapidly Aging Population
As far back as the early 1960s, the government became aware of the imminent ageing problem and began to establish nursing homes and home helpers. In the 1970s, benefits for retirees were more than doubled and a system of virtually free healthcare for older people was established. In 1990, Japan introduced the “Gold Plan”, expanding […]
Posted inReading List
#NoShame in Mental Illness: A Reading List
Here, I’ve collected several stories about mental illness, many written by writers of color.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story
A Stranger in the World: The Memoir of a Musician on Tour
The Hold Steady’s Franz Nicolay on DIY touring in the punk underground of the former Soviet Union.
Posted inNonfiction, Story
The House Where You Live Forever
The reversible destiny of Madeline Gins.
Posted inNonfiction, Story
The Day My Brother Took a Life and Changed Mine Forever
I grew up idolizing my brother. Then he killed a man.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Mother of the 'Distressed Baby' Speaks Out After AOL's CEO Blames Them for Reduced Benefits
Some commentators have questioned the implausibility of “million-dollar babies.” I have no expertise in health care costs, but I have a 3-inch thick folder of hospital bills that range from a few dollars and cents to the high six figures (before insurance adjustments). So even though it’s unlikely that AOL directly paid out those sums, […]
Posted inReading List
#NoShame in Mental Illness: A Reading List
Here, I’ve collected several stories about mental illness, many written by writers of color.
