I wrote about learning to love audiobooks--but even more about the terror of losing the ability to read & concentrate.

“'Brain fog' is too benign a phrase for the suffocating powerlessness of watching your cognition dissolve in real time."
vox.com/the-goods/2301… The essay is also how often women's health is still an afterthought, how we're trained to doubt our symptoms and our reality.

In my case, brain fog and loss of concentration were caused by undiagnosed early menopause.

I keep coming back to this. My entire life, conservative religious leaders have warned against the temptations of secular influences. They told us we would demonstrate our faith by standing up to false prophets and false teachings. /1

https://twitter.com/sullivanamy/status/1338198897152450560

Christian nationalism makes an idol of secular power. The fact that it calls itself "Christian" does not make it actually so.

But where are these same conservative religious leaders now? Do they decry the dangers of this false religion?

Apparently it's complicated. /2

#PublishingPaidMe Late to the party, but here's the story of my first and only book contract. I still don't quite understand it myself.

I pitched my first magazine story in fall 2002. The piece eventually became a cover for @monthly six months later & launched my career. /1 The piece was on Dems & religion and it blew up. (Back story here: washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/novem…)

Overnight, I started getting more assignments, speaking invites, and hearing from literary agents. I signed with one, worked up a book proposal, and she sent it out. /2

1/ I've been logging & coding the hundreds of responses here (nerds gotta nerd) and wanted to pass along some initial observations.

The two most common reasons ppl stopped voting "GOP because I'm Christian" were: 1) exposure to diverse ideas & communities; and 2) Trump.

https://twitter.com/sullivanamy/status/1263205171603156993

2/ Both involve questioning what you've always been told. Many people reported moving to another city or country, teaching kids of different races, having conservations with Democrats & liberals--basically, meeting those they'd known only as caricatures and realizing, Nope.

A word, please. I'm getting into activism after two decades in journalism in large part because of the kind of NONSENSE being preached right now by those who think radical measures to save lives aren't worth the impact of shutting down the economy for a few more weeks. /1 Now, I grew up Baptist--like sword drill champion, Pioneer-Girl-Because-Girl-Scouts-Are-Too-Secular, JESUS PUPPET CAMP Baptist. I'm still Baptist. And one thing I have heard my entire life is that we need to be "in the world but not of the world." Don't be secular. /2

If #Warren gets essentially shut out today, we need some serious talks and action to combat our country's internalized misogyny. (Even if she doesn't get shut out, we need to have that conversation and action.) Has her campaign been flawless? No. Are there very good reasons for voters to prefer other candidates? Of course. Would a male candidate with the same profile have fared better in this race? Absolutely.

I’m not sure anyone appreciates the deep well of anger and pain among Warren supporters—many of whom are the women whose activism drove 2018—listening to experts write off Elizabeth Warren’s campaign. Just anecdotally, I’ve had conversations over the past few days with several Warren supporters who have been surprised themselves. They knew they liked her most, but didn’t anticipate the rage they feel right now.
#GoodAndMad cc @rtraister

Unpopular opinion: Is it possible to believe both that the CT editorial was long overdue & claiming ground staked out loooong ago by people of color and women and women of color AND that its publication is significant. /1 Is CT influential these days? Is any publication? ::deep sigh::

I can guarantee that if CT had run an editorial opposing Trump's impeachment, Franklin Graham and Ralph Reed would be out here heralding it. But. /2

There's a lot I agree with in this thread responding to the photo of Christian music stars with Trump at the WH.

But having covered religion & politics for decades now, my head reels at the idea that "Christians feel like they belong for the first time in a long time" /1

https://twitter.com/BT_Harman/status/1204792143266635781

Even setting aside (and these are big caveats) the definition of "Christian" as white, conservative, and evangelical; setting aside Amy Grant, aka my QUEEN of Christian music, singing in Obama's White House--DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THE GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENCY? /2

News Outlets, we need to have a talk about how you're going to cover the Mueller Report tomorrow. Your initial coverage of the report filing and Barr's immediate response was embarrassing. Understandable, but embarrassing. To do better, you need a plan. /1 There are a lot of things we don't yet know about tomorrow, but a whole lot that we do. Let's look at them:
• We don't know how much of the report will be redacted, or what percentage of the full report tomorrow's release will include. /2

This is who America is:
• Two women become the first Muslim women in Congress
• Duncan Hunter wins reelection with a virulently Islamophobic campaign

•Colorado baker wins right to refuse service to gay customers
•Colorado elects nation's first openly-gay governor
/1 This is who America is:
• 2 Dems become 1st Native Americans elected to Congress
• N. Dakota's voter ID law suppresses 1000s of Native American votes

• Parkland (and the rest of FL) now has NRA-approved governor & senators
• A gun-control advocate won Newt's old district
/2