Why Challenge Assumptions?

About this newsletter and its author

Welcome to Challenging Assumptions. I'm gratified by the response to this new experiment in blogging – and I haven't even begun! Thank you.

Along with processing the produce from this year’s backyard veggie garden, I’m working on a number of new articles, the first of which will be published here soon. But first, I thought I'd briefly tell you a bit about myself and what I have in mind for this newsletter.

When I first began writing professionally about 45 years ago, I knew that one of my goals was to help people understand the world we were living in. Maybe that’s the goal of all writers! At any rate, I realized early on that my mission was to challenge old assumptions and present new perspectives on how we live in our families and our communities, and on our planet. And I think where we’re at today in this old world requires some serious pondering on those topics.

Over the years, amongst mothering two now-grown daughters, participating unsuccessfully in national politics, moving cross country a few times and around the world, and pursuing other adventures, I’ve worked as a freelance journalist, owned and edited four magazines, written multiple books (including one entitled Challenging Assumptions in Education), and contributed to many others. My work has encompassed eco-friendly living; life learning (aka unschooling and self-directed learning); non-coercive, respectful parenting; social change; environmental stewardship; as well as locally-based and micro business.

The physical, mental, economic, and social health of our families and of our environment are all connected and are a reflection of the choices we make. My writing involves presenting the range of choices available and encouraging others to challenge the assumptions inherent in those choices so that we make the right ones for ourselves, our families, and the Earth. The topics you’ll read about here, as with my previous books and articles, mostly involve embracing smaller-scale, local, less institutionalized ways of doing things, and generally becoming more self-reliant in the way that we think, parent, educate ourselves, and otherwise live in our communities. And oh, do I have opinions, many of which I'll share here too!

I offer all the writing in this newsletter for free. Subscribers receive notifications of every new addition, although all my writing here will remain accessible to everyone who is interested in reading it.

To learn more about my past work and to read more of my writing, please visit my website.

So, welcome. And now, I must get back to grating and freezing zucchini! I’m looking forward to this new adventure in writing and hope to see you in the comments section in the future.