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The Science of Heartbreak
Death and disease increase after divorce. Journalist Florence Williams, mourning the end of her own marriage, investigates why.
Op-Ed: Heartbreak hurts, in part because our cells ‘listen for loneliness’
Los Angeles Times
This Is Your Brain on Heartbreak
Love changes us at a physiological level, making us more sensitive to joy—and to pain.
The Atlantic
He Divorced Me on Land—but I Left My Marriage on the River
Reeling from her husband’s request to divorce after 25 years of marriage and two kids, Florence Williams was experiencing debilitating grief. An accomplished reporter, she decided to explore the science of heartache to see if she could find a cure. In this excerpt from her new book, ‘Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey,’ she heads out for a 120-mile solo paddle on Utah’s Green River, with a too heavy portable toilet and a shattered heart.
Outside Magazine
The Importance of Teaching Children Hard Lessons
Childhood used to come with rites of passage: your first fish, your first hunt, your first taste of outdoor risk. We need to rebuild the steps along the journey to adulthood.
Outside Magazine
The Adventure Therapy Cure for Survivors
When you take former sex-trafficking victims into the wilderness for a few days of roughing it, know this: they’ve seen worse. Florence Williams goes on a trip organized by Atlanta-based She Is Able and learns that one size of adventure therapy does not fit all.
Outside Magazine
How to Reclaim Peace and Quiet in a Noisy World
You’re alive during the Noisiest Period of Human History, and it’s having powerful effects on your body, mind, and mood. Happily, you can turn down the volume.
Real Simple
River of Healing
Can veterans find solace on the River of No Return?
High Country News
Why Fractals Are So Soothing
Jackson Pollock’s paintings mirror nature’s patterns, like branching trees, snowflakes, waves—and the structure of the human eye.
The Atlantic
Is Your Noisy Neighborhood Slowly Killing You?
Inside the science of negative sound effects, and what we can do about them.
Mother Jones
To Fight the Winter Blues, Try a Dose of Nature
New studies suggest that even short daily amounts of time outdoors—such as a city stroll—improve our moods and our ability to think
The Wall Street Journal
This is Your Brain on Nature
When we get closer to nature—be it untouched wilderness or a backyard tree—we do our overstressed brains a favor.
National Geographic Magazine
ADHD is Fuel for Adventure
Some of the best medicine for kids with attention-deficit disorders may be extreme sports and outdoor learning.
Outside Magazine
Cover Story: Generation ToXic
We’ve known for years that lead seriously impairs early childhood development. Now scientists are finding that our kids’ brains are at risk from a barrage of other common chemicals.
On Earth Magazine
Why I Chose Not to Get Tested for BRCA Genes
Slate.com
The Science of Conquering Your Greatest Fears
It may be the oldest emotion. Before happiness, before sorrow, before exhilaration, and way, way before the urge to climb mountains and bomb down steeps, there was fear. Now scientists are finding new ways to help us conquer our deepest anxieties—and use them to perform even better.
Outside Magazine
The Impressive Power of Breast Milk
Breast-feeding boosts an infant’s immune system and promotes a healthy gut. Scientists are finally isolating the compounds responsible. The result could be a health breakthrough for all ages.
Discover Magazine
Eat Like a Mennonite
On the second day of my chemical-detox diet, I was very hungry. I’d been eating like a rabbit, all carrots and greens that I’d gathered, barehanded, from the baskets of the farmer’s market, no gloves or plastic bags allowed. I cooked up some quinoa that I bought packaged in paper from the supermarket sometimes known as Whole Paycheck.
New York Times
Take Two Hours of Pine Forest and Call Me in the Morning
These days, screen-addicted Americans are more stressed out and distracted than ever. And nope, there’s no app for that. But there is a radically simple remedy: get outside.
Outside Magazine
Breast Implants Turn 50
On the 50th anniversary of the breast implant, Florence Williams takes a look back at the peaks and valleys of the controversial silicone orbs.
W Magazine
Breast Milk Therapies for Adults
The first round of milk-derived drugs are aimed at infants and children. But such compounds could soon also be aiding grown-ups—especially those whose populations of internal microbes have been compromised.
Discover Magazine
Toxic Breast Milk?
If human breast milk came stamped with an ingredients label, it might read something like this: 4 percent fat, vitamins A, C, E and K, lactose, essential minerals, growth hormones, proteins, enzymes and antibodies...
New York Times Magazine
How Animals May Cause the Next Big One
Florence reviews Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
The New York Review of Books