A year to turn the page
The year 2020 has been humbling in the face of nature. The coronavirus pandemic rattled the earth and revealed just how unstable the ground beneath us was. For journalists, the avalanche of life-or-death news crashed into an industry already beset by acute financial strain, the warping effects of disinformation, and long-standing inequity. In the print pages of the
Columbia Journalism Review, we’ve looked at a media ecosystem confronting the realities of our distressed planet and the people who inhabit it.
First, in the spring, was the climate issue. E. Tammy Kim turned her attention to the
The Grizzly Attack that Created a Bear Advocate
Photo by: Avalon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
When Mya Helena Myllykoski and her son were attacked by a grizzly bear whilst hiking they managed to fight it off partly through luck, and partly through a can of bear spray. As Eva Holland explains in
Cottage Life, the fact that they were not completely helpless could be why neither has had any adverse psychological effects from the attack: “For most … a key factor in recovering from trauma is agency, the sense that you have power or control over your own circumstances.” It’s a concept called “post-traumatic growth,” also known as “adversarial growth” or “benefit-finding.” Mya went hiking with her younger son a few days after the attack, and, in fact, the incident ended up giving her a clear sense of purpose she now addresses bear-human conflict in speaking gigs and in a book that she is working on. Instead of holding any resentment against bears, s
The world’s parcel delivery services are slammed beyond capacity, but it’s not too late to give the gift of knowledge this holiday season. Just call up a local bookstore near your giftee’s address and have them put aside a copy of one of the books below. Or better yet, order a few for yourself. This winter, more than any other, is the right time to curl up on the sofa next to a big stack of books and stay the heck inside (other than during your daily workout or adventure, of course).
The list rules: these are books I liked this year. Some are old, others are new, and a few are still to come. They generally align with the themes of the Sweat Science column science, endurance, fitness, adventure but sometimes the connection is pretty slender. For more ideas, check out the fall book list I put together back in September.