April–May 2024

Living Large While Something’s Trying to Kill You

Writer and performer Annie Lanzillotto ’86 has spent a lifetime dodging cancer—while making work that elevates her vibrant, violent working-class upbringing to the realm of poetry, ritual, and myth.

Talking Back

After the medical and racial nightmare that was 2020, John Johnson ’23 MD set out on a healing path that includes talking openly about mental health, racism, and medical disparities.

Are the Kids Alright?

The pandemic hit teens hard, causing a measurable decline in mental health. Enter Molly Josephs ’09, whose podcast, This Teenage Life, became a lifeline for tweens and teens from California to Kabul, helping them to vent—and heal—one episode at a time.

Mainstreaming Mindfulness

Professor Eric Loucks is on a mission

A Familismo Approach

Targeted therapy for Latinx youth

The Good Life

A course on happiness gets mobbed

The Anxiety Hacker

Jud Brewer can help you change your mind

Theater Dynamo

Remembering professor and director Lowry Marshall (1944-2023)

The Zen of Woodworking

Five minutes with Wyatt Woodbery ’24.5

A Crisis for Children

A letter from the Editor

Free Speech in Troubled Times

A letter from the President

Can an MRI Predict anxiety?

12-Step Alternative

A science-based, non-religious recovery program has become #2 after A.A.

Visual Therapy

Digital imagery helps people express complex emotions.

Are Mushrooms the New Prozac?

Research with psilocybin shows positive results for depression

Psychosis Test

Tracking mental illness with technology

Talking Cure

A podcast by two sisters helps Black women navigate healthcare.

Paging Dr. Freud

Self-Healing

The power and resilience of swimming in icy waters

Fresh Ink for April–May 2024

Books by Jessica Grose ’04, Michael Compton and March Manseau ’02, ’06 MPH, and Rachel Aviv ’04

Who’s at Risk?

Researchers address high suicide rates with app-based tools and culturally aware interventions.

“Coping with Covid” 101

A new course on the psychology of pandemics offers a scientific take on Covid-related mental health issues and a place for students to process.