People In Your Neighborhood

take a seat and read!!!

Marisha Pessl wrote her debut novel and was completely controversial, both widely praised and mocked. I for one LOVED it: Special Topics in Calamity Physics  was one of my favorite finds of the last ten years. Her 2nd novel was a long time coming, but it's almost here. The website for Night Film is frigging awesome.

The obituary of my beloved Edna St. Vincent Millay

A long time ( 10 years! ) online friend of mine runs this amazing natural soap shop, with cleaners, deodorants etc. that smell OUT OF THIS WORLD good. Seriously.

Katie's story about getting very ill- having doctors tell her all the wrong things, and then finding a doctor who finally figured out what she needed was an armour thyroid pill instead of the synthroid she'd been taking- it's an important and timely story for so many women. Not only is her diagnosis important to note ( and symptoms ) but also the way she was treated by her doctors, which is not uncommon with autoimmune issues.

This photo documentary is the deeply moving and upsetting story of Shane and Maggie. Don't miss this.

Did you know Jane Pauley has bipolar disorder? I didn't. This essay by her about her diagnosis and recovery is so interesting.

Letters of Note is such a great website- it features ' correspondence deserving of a wider audience ' Fascinating.

Enough Abuse campaign.   :

The Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Study is one of the largest investigations ever conducted on the links between childhood maltreatment and later-life health and well-being. Conducted by the federal CDC and Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest HMO, the study found that of 17,000 members surveyed, 16% of men and 25% of women indicated they had had sexual contact with an adult or older child when they were children. This supports other previous studies in which 1 in 4 females and 1 in 6 males reported having experienced some form of sexual abuse or exploitation before age 18.

Victims include infants, toddlers, young children and teens. Children ages 8 to 11 comprise the largest number of sexually abused children while teens from 14 to 17 represent a third of victims. The fastest growing age group experiencing sexual abuse is children 6 and under. Children with physical and mental disabilities are especially vulnerable. The problem is enormous and so are its consequences.