Archive: Aug 2006

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Enter the Therapy Zone

By Notable Narratives August 31, 2006

Trost’s own daughter is doing well, she reports, after years of innovative and experimental treatments for her combination of learning and behavioral problems. In this piece Trost returns to that world by following another little girl through a maze of … Read more

My Dear Donor

By Notable Narratives August 31, 2006

A woman on the verge of death is saved by a bone marrow transplant. She seeks out her donor after her recovery. They fall in love, and the rest is… a good story. Feeney goes after good detail in his … Read more

Growing Up Is Fun—Right?

By Notable Narratives August 31, 2006

Hiba Hariri is 14. She’s acting in a play, along with her boyfriend. They have a fight, and then the trouble begins. This piece is a good model for the basic narrative paradigm of complication, development and resolution. And Hayasaki’s … Read more

Writing for Their Lives

By Notable Narratives August 31, 2006

As we read this series, we thought of Chip Scanlan’s discussion of using private records for insights into characters. This entire series is, in a sense, based on the private records of struggling kids. Through Snyder’s reporting on a … Read more

A Life Without Left Turns

By Notable Narratives August 31, 2006

We love the humor in this piece, the light touch, the human, almost self-deprecating voice. It’s folksy and sophisticated at once—a lovely, complete little memoir. Read “A Life Without Left Turns,” by Michael Gartner … Read more

A Tank of Gas, a World of Trouble

By Notable Narratives August 30, 2006

This tour de force pursues two basic lines of narrative: a more intimate story in an Illinois gas station, where its workers struggle and customers complain as gas prices climb. A larger narrative is international. Salopek managed to get access … Read more

A Painful Course to College

By Notable Narratives August 30, 2006

Betsy Perez wants to go away to college. She overcomes obstacles and does. We admired this piece in part because it portrays character so effectively and efficiently. It’s also a neat example of showing, in few words, a sympathetic character … Read more

A Home for Brissa

By Notable Narratives August 30, 2006

In her comments on this story on the Journal Star’s Web site, Lange-Kubick writes, "We hoped that one family’s journey might illuminate a larger truth: How difficult it is to gain legal status and how far love will travel to … Read more

Blood Brothers

By Notable Narratives August 30, 2006

This piece includes an excellent focus on one thoughtful, smart, sympathetic character. His character arc is strong. We liked the beginning of the piece: It establishes conflict right away, gets us involved in the character’s struggle. We thought the battle … Read more

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