On awe and the northern lights, the science of bipolar disorder, and two books to give you perspective.
On a November night, the sky exploded with color. I stood in the cold in my pajamas with my neck at an angle my physical therapist said I must never let it make. “I’m losing my mind,” I texted my parents. I’d seen those hot pink and aqua hues before. On a tie-dye shirt. On a Troll’s head. In someone else’s photo. But until they rocketed in from the sun to the sky above my house, I’d never let them move me. That took cosmic intervention. Maybe it always does.
My Latest Writing
If you seek medical care for your mental health, one of the first things you’ll get is a diagnosis. It’s the language that compels insurance companies to pay for your care. But there’s a world of murky complexity behind labels like bipolar disorder, one scientists shed a little more light on every day with new research findings.
For nearly a year now, I’ve been covering some of the most important recent research that someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder should know about to understand what their diagnosis really means outside of an insurance claim and what the science says are the most helpful treatments.
Here’s my latest monthly article featuring five of these new studies: Bipolar Research & Insights: Neuroimaging, Lab-Grown Mini Brains, Substance Use, and More | November 2025 (bpHope)
Book Recommendations
An Immense World: How Animals Sense Earth’s Amazing Secrets (Young Readers Edition), by Ed Yong
I’ve said it here before and I’ll say it again: I stan Ed Yong. So when I saw he was coming to Macalester College, my alma mater, I had to be there. Ed talked about birding and how it revived him after major burnout following his award-winning coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also shared that he just finished the manuscript for his third book. While we wait, I want to point you toward the young-readers edition of An Immense World (Ed signed my kids’ copy in addition to my grown-up one). It’s all about how animals perceive the world and is filled with awe-some facts. What a give to give your favorite young people.
The Way to a Beautiful World, by James Norbury
The Way to a Beautiful World is a reassuring hug of a book. The format is unique — ethereal illustrations and minimal text convey reassuring messages about trusting life and your own ability to handle it. The story follows two friends — a dragon and a panda — as they navigate various landscapes, including mountains, caverns, and a swamp. But each location also stands in for an emotional experience: mountains explore anger, caverns cover fear and anxiety, and the swamp is about self-doubt.
The first pages invite you to explore the book however you like. Read it all the way through or let the pages fall open where they will. I’ve felt low this month; I guess the darkness is getting to me. But reading this book — which I opted to do cover to cover in a single sitting — brought a little light, and I’m confident it’ll do the same for many others.
*Thank you to William Morrow for the advance review copy. See my disclosure statement for my policy on accepting books for review.
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