Author Archives: Kathy

Serendipitous Reading

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Kathy

I just finished Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer. It’s a study of what scientists know about memory and what wise people through Western history have thought about it, along with the author’s involvement … Continue reading →

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Defining Terms

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Kathy

Sometimes people ask me the meaning and origin of borderline. It describes a middle ground between neurosis and psychosis. Those Freudian terms are a little out of vogue. To review, a neurosis is a mental disturbance of lesser seriousness. Fear of … Continue reading →

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A Measure Going Out

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Kathy

A few years after my dad died and very soon after my childhood dog Abbie died, I stood in a bookstore and picked up Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. I read the book’s epigraph from Heraclitus and burst … Continue reading →

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Books for Kids, Not

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Kathy

My sister-in-law Penni forwarded me an email that tells you what was happening in the year you were born. One fact struck me: Par Lagervist won the Nobel Prize for Literature that year. (I’m not saying what year that was. … Continue reading →

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What to Do

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Kathy

My July, especially the last week or so, has been taken up with senior dog care and vacillating over the decision as to what to do. People who say that your dog tells you when it’s time to end his … Continue reading →

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Love the One You’re With

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Kathy

I’ve named this phenomenon Compassion for the Other Person, meaning compassion for someone other than the person sitting in front of you. This happens when you’re telling a friend about a hurt or a problem, and the friend explains what … Continue reading →

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Causes, Again

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Kathy

I’ve been reading How Dysfunctional Families Spur Mental Disorders: A Balanced Approach to Resolve Problems and Reconcile Relationships by Dr. David M. Allen, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Dr. Allen asserts that drug … Continue reading →

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Splitting

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Kathy

I’ve just finished a new memoir, Loud in the House of Myself: Memoir of a Strange Girl, by Stacy Pershall, who’s been diagnosed with both bipolar and borderline personality disorders. It’s a harrowing account of self harm and suicide attempts, miserable … Continue reading →

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Phonemic Awareness, Etc.

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Kathy

One of my favorite writers, James Herndon, wrote this in How to Survive in Your Native Land (1971): “What stops you [from reading] is people teaching you skills and calling those skills ‘reading,’ which they are not, and giving you … Continue reading →

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Stigma Redux

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Kathy

I just finished reading Sara Gruen’s bestselling novel Water for Elephants. It’s an enjoyable read, and she did an impressive amount of research. It’s fun and dumb. Thinking over the ending, I was reminded of my redemptive violence post. Since … Continue reading →

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