The art and science of persuasion
That's what my work is about — coaxing readers to question old assumptions and consider new ideas. Whether ghost-writing op-eds for nonprofits, developing content strategy for marketing firms or writing speeches for executives, my goal is always the same: Simplify the complex. Find the human angle. Hook the reader. Make things change.
Want to see how I do it? Read some of my work below.
Want to see how I do it? Read some of my work below.
REACH Magazine
I love to write about research — both the nitty-gritty science stuff and the ponderings of liberal-arts professors. These days, the University of Minnesota's REACH Magazine often gives me the chance.
Organizing Chaos: Creativity or Psychosis? ~ Winter 2014
Raechel Grazioplene on what the brains of the ingenious and the ill have in common. Arab Americans in the Movies: the Cultural 'Other' ~ Winter 2014 Waleed Mahdi views U.S.-Arab conflict through the lens of cinema. Dancing and dreaming of justice ~ Spring 2011 Ananya Chatterjea's world-changing vision. The politics of care ~ Spring 2011 Joan Tronto's vision of a society that honors the value of caregiving. |
Clips from the Strib
My years on the Star Tribune editorial page were among the most exhilarating in my career. Here's some of the writing that won national recognition — some columns, a collection of essays and some in-depth enterprise projects.
The Magnolia Chronicles
Inspired by the yearly blossoming of my backyard magnolia tree, these essays became a spring tradition on the Strib editorial page. They also trace my life story — but only if you look.
Noticing when something goes right
04/17/1998 Seizing spring's lovely moment 04/20/1999 The exquisite art of believing 04/25/2000 Abiding the dark, rejoicing in light 05/05/2001 Asking a bush to be a tree 04/21/2002 |
Seizing the fleeting moment
04/23/2003 Blossoms through the storm 04/24/2004 The art of blooming, and losing 04/17/2005 A joy beyond owning 04/18/2006 |
Mental Health: Seeking a System
This several-year Star Tribune series on Minnesota's care of citizens with mental illness won the Scripps Howard Foundation's national award for editorial writing. More important, it spurred change in state mental-health policies.
Minnesota’s asylum on the street
01/18/2001 Passing the buck, snubbing the sick 03/05/2001 Show commitment to the suffering 03/11/2001 Minnesota’s chance to keep a promise 03/18/2001 Saving minds, saving money 03/25/2001 Neglecting the sick, and the future 04/01/2001 A revolution well worth the price 05/26/2001 |
Minnesota’s new asylums for the sick
02/11/2002 Betraying the sick, time and again 03/15/2002 When machetes show up on the street 03/27/2002 Sick and solitary 06/12/2002 Psych beds needn’t all be in hospitals 08/18/2002 Why lock up the sick? 09/05/2002 |
The Changing Face of AIDS
These pieces about the Asian AIDS crisis were inspired by a week in Bangkok at the 15th International Conference on AIDS — and by visits to Cambodia and India thereafter.
AIDS with an Asian Face
08/15/2004 Facing up to a rising plague 08/15/2004 A slow-mo approach to AIDS 08/24/2004 |
Hopes, hurdles for a vaccine
08/24/2004 Counting condoms, saving lives 09/05/2004 Microbicides: Hoping for an anti-AIDS shield 09/25/2004 |
Imagining Africa
Created with Strib colleague Denise Johnson, this series tells stories of hope and heartbreak from the study tour we led for the National Conference of Editorial Writers to four African countries.
Mandela's walk to freedom
06/11/2000 Call of the conscience 10/01/2000 HIV, ignorance make deadly team 10/08/2000 |
Learning to Die
Some years back I spent a year interviewing dying people and the folks who care for them. The result was "Learning to Die" — a six-day series that won all sorts of awards. Yes, I had to fight for the title.
How we die: The American way of death
05/25/1997
Never say die: The wisdom in talking about death
05/26/1997
Grappling with futility: What to do when there's nothing to do
05/27/1997
Hospice: A better way to end a life
05/28/1997
Dying well: What caregivers, and the culture, can do
05/30/1997
How we die: The American way of death
05/25/1997
Never say die: The wisdom in talking about death
05/26/1997
Grappling with futility: What to do when there's nothing to do
05/27/1997
Hospice: A better way to end a life
05/28/1997
Dying well: What caregivers, and the culture, can do
05/30/1997