#349: Time For A Change
Next Thursday marks the seventh anniversary of The Highlighter. Thank you all for reading my newsletter week after week. There’s no way I could have predicted seven years, but thanks to your enthusiasm and loyalty, well, here we are. It’s been a great journey so far. As we approach Issue #350, I’m h…
#348: ‘Four Years Being Seen As Family’
Hi loyal readers! Thank you for being here. There’s plenty of doom out in the world right now – and plenty of pieces detailing that doom. If you’ve been a subscriber for any length of time, you know that I don’t shy away from doomsday articles. But this week – the beginning of a one-month break betw…
public
#347: The End of Equity
For many people, the summer protests of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd felt like a real chance for change. Ibram X. Kendi called for antiracism. Michelle Alexander called for the defunding of the police. Nikole Hannah-Jones called for reparations. There was a reckoning. There was a moment…
public
#346: What Bullets Do To Bodies
Dear Loyal Readers, More than 30 of you reached out with kind, thoughtful words after last week’s issue . Thank you. I’ll keep what you said private, but please know that I’m grateful for your messages of care. I’m proud and appreciative of the reading community we have built here over the last seve…
#345: The Children
Dear Loyal Readers, Usually reading brings me comfort. It brings me solace. It brings me clarity. That’s why I’ve been sharing this newsletter with you for almost 7 years. But not this week. Not after the massacre in Texas. Right now it doesn’t make sense to publish the articles I’d originally selec…
public
#344: Losing Weight Didn’t Mean Winning
Happy Thursday, loyal readers. Thank you for being here. This week’s issue focuses on the body. As someone who grew up chubby and lost and gained weight multiple times in adulthood, it’s a topic that has always fascinated me. I still get flummoxed in meetings and education workshops, for example, wh…
public
#343: What Is Vital To Your Survival?
Loyal readers, thank you for being here. I believe deeply in the power of reading for personal and collective transformation. Since February, I’ve been leading a book club focusing on The 1619 Project for a group of thoughtful people, including many of you. We’ve been reading slowly, just one essay…
public
#342: Turning Back Time
Soon women in America will no longer have the right to an abortion. Since finding out on Tuesday morning about the draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization , I have felt equal parts shock and rage. Born after Roe v. Wade , my life has corresponded with the expansion of rights i…
public
#341: Fun-Size Hustle
Happy Thursday, loyal readers! Thank you very much for being here. One thing I’ve always liked about our reading community is that we appreciate articles from a variety of publications. There’s nothing wrong with The New York Times and The Washington Post. But we see those sources every day. If we w…
public
#340: Hey Google, Please Write My Essay
Dear Loyal Readers, Lately I’ve been thinking about reading – why we do it and what makes it so rewarding. In a recent interview , poet and author Ocean Vuong said, “I think, at the risk of sounding overly dramatic or emo, I feel truer to myself while reading than I do experiencing the world through…
paid