45 years ago today: SLA kidnaps Patty Hearst
February 4, 1974: The Symbionese Liberation Army, a group of eight, acts on a plan they’ve had for months: to …
Author Archives: rachaelhanel
Polar Vortex forces me to blog!
Sundogs over Madison Lake on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Air temperature was -8 degrees F. Photo by author. The polar vortex has …
When you have competing interests, what wins?
Photo Credit: verchmarco Flickr via Compfight cc For about three months now, several days a week the first thing I …
Look to childhood for the answers
Photo Credit: wuestenigel Flickr via Compfight cc What did you enjoy doing when you were a little kid? I loved …
Are you a “Straddler”?
This is my dad. He’s probably 11 or 12, which would make it right around 1955. He’s having fun in …
A story revealed through census records
Ancestry let me know the other day that I had some documents to review and add to my tree. A …
The true crime genre for young adult readers
I’m intrigued by what sounds like a dearth of narrative nonfiction books for young adults, specifically true crime. True crime …
Admiration, or envy? You decide
We all look at others. Figuratively, we look at what people are wearing, their hair, their makeup, the way they …
The next wave of memoir
Photo Credit: Bosc d’Anjou Flickr via Compfight cc In all the years I’ve taught memoir at The Loft, at times …
Generating ideas for memoir
Photo Credit: MarkGregory007 Flickr via Compfight cc I’m teaching a generative memoir workshop at The Loft Literary Center on Saturday …
If You Have Five Seconds to Spare 