The US Represented Weekly Update

Hi USR members and guests,

As always, we’re happy you’re keeping us company, and to honor you, we continue to publish engaging works that support free intelligent free speech and creative expression. In Eric Stephenson’s “To the West,” a beach in Ireland is the setting for an abrupt end to an incomplete relationship. Tessie Walters’ “Everybody’s Garden” shows how “simple plant-related activities are healing. Without even realizing it, we are taking part in a therapeutic process when exposed to a natural environment.” In “Finland’s Education System: A Superior Model,” Colette Fontenot explains why Finland offers its students the best education in the world and why Americans need to pay more attention to this reality. Deidre Farrington Schoolcraft’s “I Wake Up Angry with Raymond Carver: For Maryann Burk Carver” asks the question, “What happens when you love-truly love-one of the great Post Modern writers, but empathize, post-Feminism, with his wife?” In “Gobekli Tepe: A Redefining Glimpse into the Neolithic Past,” Shasta Bedard discusses an incredible architectural complex that “dates back to 9600-7300 B.C.E., 6,000 years older than Stonehenge or the Egyptian pyramids, or the era that many had presumed until now to be the start of civilized human evolution. . . . So how did tribes of people collaborate together to erect such a sophisticated monumental temple used, most likely, for religious sanctuary?” In this week’s installment of Emily Badovinac’s novel, Deep Red, Chapter VI, Marlo’s only friend comes to visit her at Haven, but his presence brings up more dark memories. Rachel Sullivan’s “Iceland’s Elves: As Real as You Want Them to Be” explains why 25% of Icelanders believe in elves. She notes, “The elves in Iceland have come about through a historical combination of cultural, geographical, and political elements, and the elf tradition influences Icelanders even to this day.” Finally, Amber Sagapolu’s “Writing Saved Me” notes that writing “became a sanctuary no one could touch or take away, and this got me through the loss, heartache, and pain I endured daily.”

Please keep being who you are, and we’ll talk to you again soon.

Best!
The USR Staff