I listened to the audio version of this compilation of Lee's
early short fiction and later nonfiction, splendidly narrated by Ellen Burstyn,
who is a marvelous actress and perfectly captures Lee’s authorial “voice.” This
book is a collection of Lee’s early short fiction and later nonfiction pieces. The
stories are explorations of characters, settings, and narrative style that
later became To Kill A Mockingbird. They are witty, richly detailed, and
courageous. Every one of them is, in its unique fashion, a gem.
I fell in love with Ed McDonald’s “Redwinter Chronicles” from
the very first chapter of the very first book. His protagonist, Raine, is at once
brilliantly flawed, self-doubting, and heroic. Her capacity for compassion and her
clear-eyed courage are matched only by her conviction that she is worthless and
unlovable. As an unreliable but deeply sympathetic heroine, she’s unmatched.
All is not well in the world of this second Redwinter novel.
The king is dying, and a war of succession is brewing. With famine gripping the
north, rebellious lords scheme for the power of the Crown that protects the
living world from the forces of evil. Raine thought she had found a home in
Redwinter, where those with magical powers can learn and flourish. But her mentor,
Ulovar, is suddenly struck by a mysterious illness that slowly saps the
vitality from his body, and her new friendships prove unexpectedly fragile. Meanwhile,
the darkness within her grows, fueled by a mystical book that should not exist
and that would mean her death should it be discovered. Everything comes
crashing down when her erstwhile friend, Ovitus, puts together a new alliance
to challenge the existing politics and wrest all power to himself.
Traitor of Redwinter is a complex, nuanced fantasy
novel that does not hold back from difficult choices and dark themes. It builds
on the events and system of magic from the first volume, shattering the established
world and challenging notions of good and evil. It’s a brilliant, moving,
ultimately compassionate tour de force.
Highly recommended, with the proviso that it’s not a
stand-alone. Read the first volume first.
As a writer, I find this to be doubly true for fiction. Except for the part about writing by hand. I think it's fine to compose stories, especially novels, on a keyboard.
Writing builds resilience by changing your brain, helping you face everyday challenges
Ordinary and universal, the act of writing changes the brain. From dashing off a heated text message to composing an op-ed, writing allows you to, at once, name your pain and create distance from it. Writing can shift your mental state from overwhelm and despair to grounded clarity — a shift that reflects resilience.
Psychology, the media and the wellness industry shape public perceptions of resilience: Social scientists study it, journalists celebrate it, and wellness brands sell it.
In my work as a professor of writing studies, I research how people use writing to navigate trauma and practice resilience. I have witnessed thousands of students turn to the written word to work through emotions and find a sense of belonging. Their writing habits suggest that writing fosters resilience. Insights from psychology and neuroscience can help explain how.
Writing rewires the brain
In the 1980s, psychologist James Pennebaker developed a therapeutic technique called expressive writing to help patients process trauma and psychological challenges. With this technique, continuously journaling about something painful helps create mental distance from the experience and eases its cognitive load.
In other words, externalizing emotional distress through writing fosters safety. Expressive writing turns pain into a metaphorical book on a shelf, ready to be reopened with intention. It signals the brain, “You don’t need to carry this anymore.”
Translating emotions and thoughts into words on paper is a complex mental task. It involves retrieving memories and planning what to do with them, engaging brain areas associated with memory and decision-making. It also involves putting those memories into language, activating the brain’s visual and motor systems.
Writing things down supports memory consolidation — the brain’s conversion of short-term memories into long-term ones. The process of integration makes it possible for people to reframe painful experiences and manage their emotions. In essence, writing can help free the mind to be in the here and now.
Taking action through writing
The state of presence that writing can elicit is not just an abstract feeling; it reflects complex activity in the nervous system.
Brain imaging studies show that putting feelings into words helps regulate emotions. Labeling emotions — whether through expletives and emojis or carefully chosen words — has multiple benefits. It calms the amygdala, a cluster of neurons that detects threat and triggers the fear response: fight, flight, freeze or fawn. It also engages the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that supports goal-setting and problem-solving.
In other words, the simple act of naming your emotions can help you shift from reaction to response. Instead of identifying with your feelings and mistaking them for facts, writing can help you simply become aware of what’s arising and prepare for deliberate action.
Even mundane writing tasks like making a to-do list stimulate parts of the brain involved in reasoning and decision-making, helping you regain focus.
The Ghost Writer, by Alessandra Torre (Thomas &
Mercer)
I first met Alessandra Torre through InkersCon, which offers
in-person and virtual conferences for writers, mostly but not exclusively
self-published romance writers. I found the virtual events energizing and
worthwhile, in no small part due to Alessandra’s passion and knowledge. She
often references her own work, comprising romance, contemporary fiction, and
suspense/thriller (as A. R. Torre), so I decided to check it out. I knew she
could teach (and organize!), but was this an instance of “those who cannot do,
teach”? The answer was a resounding “No!” The Ghost Writer came out in
2017 and falls under the loose category of “domestic thriller.” It’s a gripping
page-turner fired by the obsession of the narrator, a romance novelist named
Helena Ross. At the beginning, Helena lets us know that she is dying (from
cancer for which she inexplicably refuses to undergo treatment), that she is an
utter perfectionist who cannot tolerate frailty in either herself or others (like
her agent or her rival to the title Queen of Romance), and that, in her words,
her final book is not a novel but a confession. If that isn’t enough, she has
only three months to live, and every day the cancer steals more energy and
focus. The only thing to do is hire a ghost writer, and the most likely—the only
viable candidate—is her rival. This description falls far short of Helena’s
vivid, idiosyncratic voice, the steadily increasing dramatic tension, the whiplash
turns and revelations, and the ultimately satisfying if tragic ending.
Torre doesn’t pull any punches; she plays fair with the
reader every step of the way in both what she hides, what she reveals, and how
she creates one delusional “down the rabbithole” path after another. The book
is an exemplar of precisely timed, nuanced details, superb handling of dramatic
tension, and compelling emotions.
That may well be the question being asked by “No Kings” protesters, who marched, rallied and danced all over the nation on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Pro-democracy groups had aimed to encourage large numbers of Americans to demonstrate that “together we are choosing democracy.” They were successful, with crowds turning out for demonstrations in thousands of cities and towns from Anchorage to Miami.
And while multiple GOP leaders had attacked the planned demonstrations, describing them as “hate America” rallies, political science scholars and national security experts agree that the current U.S. administration’s actions are indeed placing the world’s oldest continuous constitutional republic in jeopardy.
Once a democracy starts to erode, it can be difficult to reverse the trend. Only 42% of democracies affected by autocratization – a transformation in governance that erodes democratic safeguards – since 1994 have rebounded after a democratic breakdown, according to Swedish research institute V-Dem.
Often termed “democratic backsliding,” such periods involve government-led changes to rules and norms to weaken individual freedoms and undermine or eliminate checks on power exercised by independent institutions, both governmental and non-governmental.
Even so, practices used globally to fight democratic backsliding or topple autocracies can be instructive.
In a nutshell: Nonviolent resistance is based on noncooperation with autocratic actions. It has proven more effective in toppling autocracies than violent, armed struggle.
But it requires more than street demonstrations.
One pro-democracy organization helps train people to use video to document abuses by government.
That momentum can be challenging to generate. Would-be autocrats create environments of fear and powerlessness, using intimidation, overwhelming force or political and legal attacks, and other coercive tactics to force acquiescence and chill democratic pushback.
Autocrats can’t succeed alone. They rely on what scholars call “pillars of support” – a range of government institutions, security forces, business and other sectors in society to obey their will and even bolster their power grabs.
However, everyone in society has power to erode autocratic support in various ways. While individual efforts are important, collective action increases impact and mitigates the risks of reprisals for standing up to individuals or organizations.
Here are some of the tactics used by those movements across the world:
