Book Report

Writing From the Heart: Tapping the Power of Your Inner Voice By Nancy Slonim Aronie ’63 This enduring guide, now in its seventh printing, presents creative writing as a path to self-healing, encouraging writers to search their souls and take risks. Writing From the Heart grants individuals permission to tell their own stories in their own voices, using their own styles. The book, originally published in 1998, provides inspirational exercises and methods for overcoming writer’s blocks, and includes chapters like “Before you knew everything, everything was new” and “Are you there, gut? It’s me, Margaret.” Aronie promotes a “safe” creative environment that urges writers to let go of the red-pen discipline they learned in the classroom and gives them freedom to trust their own creativity. “If you feel safe, you can do anything,” Aronie said on the website for the Chilmark Writing Workshop she founded in 1986 on Martha’s Vineyard, where she lives with her husband. “Here is … [Read more...]

Communication Centers and Oral Communication Programs in Higher Education: Advantages, Challenges, and New Directions Edited by Eunkyong “Esther” L. Yook, UMW Speaking Center and Korea Program director, and Wendy Atkins-Sayre This collection examines the growth and development of the centers that support communication courses and programs as they become more prevalent in higher education. Published by Lexington Books, February 2012   … [Read more...]

Politics & Society in Contemporary China By Elizabeth Freund Larus, professor of political science and international affairs The text uses a detailed account of the modern history of China and the changes that have occurred throughout the past 60 years to put into context current Chinese politics and society. Published by Lynne Rienner Publishers, February 2012 … [Read more...]