My favorite part of the paper has always been the advice columns. Ann Landers, Dear Amy, Dear Abby, Miss Manners, and more recently, Dear Carolyn and for crowd-sourced advice, Quora.
I enjoy the letters describing the dilemma, which unwittingly tell the reader so much about the author. The advice makes me think critically – what would I have done? Do I agree with the advice? Did it seem like the advice giver “got” it?
The situations and their responses give me a sense of what is socially appropriate, emotionally healthy, and legal.
The advice world, reflecting society at large, has a growing trend toward removing “toxic” and difficult people from your life. I put toxic in quotes not because toxic people don’t exist, but because our definition of them has grown to include not just your pathological, gaslighting uncle, but also your awkward friend who is working on her problems but still sometimes says careless or terrible things.
For once, I’m sharing three books in one post that are sort of related to one another.
Let’s start with Founding Father General Washington.
I’m easily overstimulated. It only takes a few variables to leave me close to a meltdown. In the worst case scenarios, I’m essentially blind and deaf – my vision and hearing literally shut down when I can’t take it anymore. Equations like:
loud music + 2 kids talking to me at the same time + being tired
OR
hunger + someone talking to me + trying to execute a left-hand turn
These can easily equal tunnel vision, no vision, or a brief loss of hearing. This has happened while driving and in social situations and it is terrifying.
After reading several books with protagonists who were on the Autism Spectrum, I started to wonder if maybe I was on one end of that, but it didn’t quite feel right. I don’t think it’s that I experience the world that differently from other people, I experience it MORE and LOUDER.
I don’t remember how I came across the books written by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D., about highly sensitive people. There are a number to choose from, but I went for The Highly Sensitive Parent: Be Brilliant In Your Role, Even When The World Overwhelms You, which I then kept for way past its due date at the library.
It’s time for YA lit by Native American Author Eric Gansworth.
I’m a total sucker for pre-internet coming-of-age books.
Black History Month Reading Lists are a yearly tradition on the blog. Until now, I’ve featured mainly kids’ books, but this year, I want to share three titles for you, the adult, to read. I love good cover art, and two of the following titles have covers that are a treat for the eyes.
