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Video Blog, Pt. 4: The Exciting Conclusion!
Posted on January 5, 2021 Leave a Comment

In the final portion of this video Q & A, students ask about the target audience for When the Band Played On, potential future book topics, and how I’d like my writing to affect people.
Video Blog Pt. 3: Answering Student Questions
Posted on December 29, 2020 Leave a Comment

In this segment, Holly asks me how a social work perspective has informed my research and writing, and to describe the experience of becoming intimately familiar with someone who I’ll never be able to meet in person.
Video Blog, Pt. 2: Answering Student Questions
Posted on December 26, 2020 Leave a Comment

Here’s Part 2 of my video blog, answering students’ questions about researching and writing a biography from a social work perspective.
My First Video Blog! Answering Student Questions (Pt. 1)
Posted on December 20, 2020 Leave a Comment

A couple months ago, I was invited to give a guest lecture to a class of social work students at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. I was so blown away by their curiosity and enthusiasm, I thought it would be fun to share their questions – and my responses – through the blog.
“Would You Have Liked Him When He Was Alive?”
Posted on December 7, 2020 1 Comment

Instead of distancing myself from the more complicated emotions of Randy’s story, I’ve tried to move closer, even when it’s challenged my comfort levels and forced me to reconsider my own assumptions and beliefs. Being able to explore those uncomfortable spaces has helped me to write about them in ways that I hope will make it stronger.
Disappointment and Rededication
Posted on December 2, 2014 Leave a Comment
Fifteen years ago, I was a senior English major, on the verge of graduating with honors from Michigan State University. I had co-founded Q-News, MSU’s first literary magazine for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied students, led its staff to a well-received presentation at the national “Creating Change” Conference, and was close to finishing a […]
From Anger to Inspiration?
Posted on May 29, 2014 Leave a Comment
I spent last weekend at the National Conference on Social Work & HIV/AIDS, a nicely organized event that seems to attract the kind of people around whom I want to be—smart, dedicated, compassionate, enthusiastic about their work, and self-reflective. The audience is part academic, part professional; in other words, a good place to test out […]