Motherhood: Post-Partum Happiness

My good friend Britney Mills has compiled a collection of stories about motherhood that is now available on Amazon. And my story is in it! The Motherhood Trek: Stories of the Smiles, Tears, and Surprises of Being a Mother Check out the full book: https://www.amazon.com/Motherhood-Trek-Stories-smiles-surprised-ebook/dp/B01N0DLCVS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479698893&sr=8-1&keywords=the+motherhood+trek Here is my personal story that appears in the book. Post-Partum... Continue Reading →

Children’s Books and Visual Design: Student Work

I'm teaching a visual rhetoric course at my new university this year. It has been so much fun to create and just as much fun to teach. I have mostly upper-level English majors and minors in the class, and they are delightful, prepared, and interested. Our first few weeks of class focused on Molly Bang's... Continue Reading →

September 21, 2016 24

Domestic Violence: So Proud of Breeanne

The Beautiful and the Damned: Life in the New India (2011) by Siddhartha Deb enlightened me in terms of the research Breeanne and I conducted in India on female practitioners in technical communication. The book highlights the economic changes that have occurred over the last decade or so because of the technology sector and the... Continue Reading →

July 28, 2016 14

Learning the Secret History of Wonder Woman

I recently visited my new university, which will begin employing me soon, for some preparatory meetings. As I waited for one meeting to start, I struck up a conversation with a student who was sitting near me. I asked him if he was an English major, since those are the students I will be teaching.... Continue Reading →

June 20, 2016 5

Quiet for Kids

Several years ago, I posted about Susan Cain's book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a Word that Can't Stop Talking. I loved the book. I loved its message. Today I'm posting about my daughter's reaction to reading Cain's adaptation of that book for kids, called Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts (2016). Here... Continue Reading →

June 8, 2016 25

Saving Alex, Saving Our Gay Brothers and Sisters

I had lunch with a new friend at a sushi place in Salt Lake City a few days ago. He had been a student of mine last semester, and now that school is out and I’m moving on to another university, and so is he, we decided to meet up and get to know each... Continue Reading →

May 23, 2016 10

Sister Editors

This academic study called Our Sister Editors: Sarah J. Hale and the Tradition of Nineteenth-Century American Women Editors (1995) contains historical, cultural, composition, literacy, and rhetorical elements of the nineteenth century. Patricia Okker's research in this book gave me insight into how to approach research on a periodical that was published in Utah from 1872... Continue Reading →

May 16, 2016 4

“Mom, what’s AIDS?”

Olivia turned to me while she worked on her homework. They were studying microbiology in sixth grade last week, and because Olivia wants to be an epidemiologist, she had been intrigued by this unit of science. "Mom, what is a disease that hasn't been cured yet?" "AIDS," I replied. "Mom, what's AIDS?" she responded. My... Continue Reading →

May 11, 2016 16

A Book about Organizational Change from a Favorite Scholar

One of my favorite scholars to read and to talk with in the field of technical and professional communication is Brenton D. Faber. I used his article on what it means to be “professional” communication for my first major publication, and for my dissertation, which focuses on women’s agency within large organizations, I used his book Community... Continue Reading →

April 18, 2016 7