The Kids Are Not All Right

Let Me Tell You Stories Of Palestine ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  [View in Browser]( | [Donate [WBUR]]( [WBUR](  [WBUR]( May 23, 2021 Dear Cog reader, We’ve got a line-up of pieces this week that revolve around trauma – the trauma we experience as children, how it affects us, how it shapes us. Alysia Abbott's piece is about her teenage daughter, whose initial stoicism in the face of missed milestones gave way to something darker and more difficult. “[Was she doing OK? I wasn’t sure]( Abbott writes. “Then late one night my husband and I awoke to the sight of her sitting at the end of our bed, her body racked with sobs.” We also published a post that presents a wide range of parents’ reflections on a year of pandemic school. One reader told us that the collection of perspectives corroborated the (un)reality of what so many of us just lived through. Did kids really go to Zoom school for a year? (Yes, yes they did.) Bottom line: [Kids gave us adults lessons in resilience](. This project was produced in coordination with WBUR’s education team, who had a terrific series this week called, “[Unexpected Lessons]( Finally, Sara Orozco wrote a chilling essay about her father’s [commitment to an extremist ideology](. She makes a connection to the “Big Lie” -- which appears to have a hold over many in the Republican Party -- and the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. She writes: “… Some of those men and women climbing over barricades and storming the halls of the Capitol with rage have children now sentenced to live in fear of those moments that their parent’s fury, discontent and unrealized victory comes home to roost.” Looking for something lighter? We got you. Anne Gardner writes about [remembering how to have fun](. She ripped off her pandemic Band-Aid at the Kentucky Derby, amidst a sea of mint-julep-drinking 20-somethings in Vineyard Vines. Thanks, as always, for reading. — Cloe Axelson and Kathleen Burge Cognoscenti editors newsletters@wbur.org Must Reads url[The Kids Are Not All Right]( When my teenage daughter struggled, she didn’t blame the isolation, or the extraordinary times we’re all still muddling through, writes Alysia Abbott. She blamed herself. [Read more](.   #%23%23[Twitter](  #%23%23[Facebook](    [Reflections On A Year Of Pandemic Learning: From 'Team Resilience' To 'Seeing My Strong Kids Crumble']( Cognoscenti asked parents and guardians to contemplate a year of pandemic school. Here’s what they said. [Read more](. [I’m An American Jew. Let Me Tell You Stories Of Palestine]( I am fixated on the intimate moments I’ve shared because I refuse to erase the humanity of those caught in this most recent episode of inhumanity, writes Daniel Osborn. [Read more](.  Support the news [My Dad Was A Political Extremist. The 'Big Lie' He Believed Hurt Us All]( Each time I watch footage of the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, I do not see the armed and enraged insurrectionists as much as I envision their children, spouses and siblings, writes Sara Orozco. [Read more](. [I Broke My Pandemic Quarantine At The Kentucky Derby]( The race forced me to rip my COVID Band-Aid off with one quick yank, writes Anne Gardner. [Read more](. [After A Year Of Treating COVID Patients, I Still Feel Helpless To Save The People I Love]( Day after day, my family and friends in India reach out for guidance, writes Dr. Pranay Sinha. I haven’t slept properly in weeks because of distressed texts and calls at midnight. [Read more](. What We're Reading "They lived when so many others died. This is a gift but also a burden, one that is perhaps only perceptible now, as the music has quieted." The New York Times, "[My Patients Will Not Be the Same. None of Us Will.]( "[T]hose who believe a university's ideological character can be discerned by surveying the political leanings of its faculty betray a fundamental misunderstanding of how universities work." Teen Vogue, "[Campus Cancel Culture Freakouts Obscure the Power of University Boards]( "When [the ambulance] finally came, the paramedics refused to take him, arguing that he did not look sick enough." The Washington Post, "[Poverty was a lifelong battle for my father. Then he got covid.]( “ What will be the long-term impact of the pandemic on kids? How will they metabolize the anxiety and ambient trauma of the last year? — Alysia Abbott, "[The Kids Are Not All Right]( ICYMI [Why I Won’t Quit My Mask. Not Yet]( Wearing a mask isn’t about eternal virtue signaling, writes Kaivan Shroff. For me, it’s about acknowledging that our actions influence others. [Read more.](       If you’d like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📨 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news [WBUR]( [WBUR]  [WBUR]( [95289b97-66e8-43d4-a174-3bc3520a79a9.png]( [Instagram](  [Twitter]( [Facebook]( Want to change how you receive these emails? [Stop getting this newsletter by updating your preferences.]( I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. [Unsubscribe from all newsletters.]( Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2021 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved. You signed up for this newsletter at wbur.org. 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