Credit: The Home of the Fixers, Flickr
Credit: The Home of the Fixers, Flickr

This Former Journalist Helps Caregivers Get to Know Who Their Patients Once Were, Before Dementia Took Hold
Tara Bahrampour, The Washington Post
Jay Newton-Small is a veteran journalist who has found a new use for her skills: writing about the earlier lives of dementia patients to help caregivers better know and understand them. Bahrampour chronicles how Newton-Small’s idea blossomed from a tool to help her own father — and those looking after him — into a full-time business. “This is a generation that doesn’t have much of their stories online, that doesn’t have much of a digital footprint,” she explained to The Post. “I like the idea of being a repository for people’s stories across generations.”


Why Women Own Guns
Ashley Fetters, GQ
As Fetters says, many Americans picture gun owners as older white men. To puncture the stereotype, she speaks here with several women who possess and carry firearms about their reasons, which tend to center around protecting themselves and their families, often from men. Interspersed are Fetters’ own experiences with a stalker. She hypothesizes that these types of threats “may be why the makeup of the gun-owning population of the United States is changing—and could look and act a lot more like” these women.


“Some Days the Bomb Goes Off”
Jessica Luther, BuzzFeed
In this lengthy profile, Luther tells the story of Lissa Curtis, a ballerina who became an accidental spokeswoman for rape survivors after confronting publicly a former instructor who she says assaulted her. The piece chronicles in detail Curtis’ experiences pursuing sexual assault charges against him and finding new purpose as an advocate. Today, Curtis still struggles with PTSD caused by the attack — nights are especially bad for her — but she finds solace and strength in her new mantra: “Be brave.”


New Rule Requires Illinois Hairstylists to Watch for Domestic Violence
Vikki Ortiz Healy, Chicago Tribune
Professional hairstylists regularly listen to the troubles of their clientele. That is why, as of Jan. 1, all hairstylists in Illinois will be required to undergo training to help them discuss sexual assault and domestic violence with customers, and point them to places to get help. It’s the first mandate of its kind in the U.S., and reception to the new law has been mixed. Some people are worried about the emotional burden on stylists, while others are hopeful that such training could lead to a decrease in incidents of abuse and assault.

[box_light]
What are some of your favorite reads? Drop us a line and tell us about them at [email protected].
[/box_light]