Journalist James Fallows has a piece in the current issue of Atlantic Monthly suggesting that Americans watch tomorrow’s presidential debate with the sound off. Ah, that I could! In his article, Fallows argues that the things that really matter in political debates these days are all visual. He predicts that the upcoming presidential debates will […]

Roughly one in five Americans lives with a disability. So where is our pride movement? That’s the subhead to an op-ed piece called Becoming Disabled in the New York Times Sunday Review this week. The piece was written by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, an academic who has a disability. The piece is well-written and looooooooooong — Professor Garland-Thomson […]

Overshadowed by speeches by Bernie, Bill and Michelle at the Democratic Convention this week came a quick and quiet talk by former Senator Tom harkin to celebrate the 26th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act yesterday. Harkin, who was taught sign language by his brother Frank, taught everyone in the audience the sign for […]

She’s a woman, we’re about the same age, and we’re both survivors. The most significant thing I have in common with Theresa May, though? It’s actually one thing we both would rather do without: the new British Prime Minister and I have Type 1 diabetes. Millions of people have diabetes. Only a small fraction of […]

Lots of people have interesting life stories to tell. The hard part? Getting those stories down on paper so that others can read — and reread — them. As the writers in the memoir classes I lead for the City of Chicago, Lincoln Park Village and at Grace Place in Printers Row master the art of writing […]