About
I write about history, science, culture, and the unexpected.
My reporting has appeared in outlets like The Washington Post, NPR, TIME, Smithsonian, The Atlantic, and National Geographic.
The Heroine’s Bookshelf (Harper), my debut book, won a Colorado Book Award for nonfiction.
Must-Reads
Corpse Pose (Popular Science)
“Vesalius’ heart may connect him to heaven, but his butt is in a plastic bin by his feet.”
I went to the basement of a Longmont, Colorado mortuary after-hours for an unusual lesson. My teachers? Cadavers. My fellow students? Yogis.
Should Childhood Trauma Be Treated as a Public Health Crisis? (NPR)
“It’s more than just ‘toughen up and deal with it,’ he says.”
A new study makes the connection between childhood trauma and addiction, poverty and mental illness in adulthood clearer than ever before. I asked the experts how it can be translated into meaningful change.
Sorry, But Jane Eyre Isn’t the Romance You Want it to Be (JSTOR Daily)
“She refused to write love as ruly, predictable, or safe.”
Readers have always picked up on Jane Eyre’s revolutionary subtexts and its uneasy relationship with love. Its author’s disastrous love life helps explain why.
What’s New?
The Heroine’s Bookshelf is now in paperback
It’s been called “a frothy literary latte” (Austenblog) and “a charming case for rereading” (Washington Post). Buy your own copy at:
Being a Janeite has its benefits
…like speaking to the entire student body of Nardin Academy in Buffalo, NY! Thanks to Nardin for hosting not just my classroom visit and assembly, but for inviting me to be the keynote speaker at Austentatious, a Jane Austen conference for educators.