Innehållsförteckning för Special #1 2022 från O, Quarterly

THERE’S NOTHING MORE certain in life than that change is inevitable. We also know it’s human nature to fear change—and to resist it. But as with an ocean wave that curls over us, drawing us under, the best way through is to flow with it and not fight it. And once we get a little more comfortable with the fact that change is happening whether we desire it or not, we can decide how to deal with it. Are we going to let it pull us down, or will we face our fears and learn from them—even embrace them—and turn change into an opportunity for growth? In this issue, we welcome change—from small tweaks in your daily routine that can bring so much joy to your days, to major emotional…

ON THE RUN Performance and panache: That’s what these elevated athletic shoes will bring to an outfit.…

WIGS HAVE BEEN around for millennia—and it’s clearly taken that long to perfect the technology. When you hear the word, it may conjure images of visible lace, a bob that’s slightly askew, or bangs that are just…wrong. But that’s not the case anymore, which may be one of the reasons so many women are experimenting with them right now. “Wigs look much more realistic than they have in the past,” says Oprah’s hairstylist, Nicole Mangrum. “If you think back to the options of the ’60s, you knew they were wigs. Now you could see someone and you may never know. There are so many different textures, colors, and lengths to try—it’s a really exciting time to play.” And some of us already are. According to a recent research report, the…

ASK AROUND Sometimes word of mouth is the best way to get a good rec. Not only can loved ones or colleagues help you find a spot that’s already vetted for you, but you may also be able to enlist a pal to go with you. Research has found that people who exercise with friends feel more confident and are more likely to get in a really good workout. GET VIRTUAL Forward__Space’s Virtual Hub has eight-, 24-, and 50-minute sweat sessions. Try the signature Forward series for easy-to-follow movement, or push play on a Fire class for athletic conditioning. There are also moving meditations and floor classes. ($34 per month after a seven-day trial; virtualhub.forward-space.com) CONSIDER A DANCE STUDIO Abby took a tap class for the first time at age…

THE FIRST TIME I went surfing on my own, outside the cozy bubble of a lesson, I ignored the break a half-block from my house, opting to wrestle a brand-new board into my car and drive to a different beach. With all nine and a half feet of it stretching across the passenger seat from the dashboard through to the back, blocking my sight lines, I was an accident waiting to happen. But at least all my new neighbors wouldn’t see me flailing and falling and failing in the water. I’d never been much of an athlete. As a middle-aged novice, I felt like an anti-natural surfer: slow, inflexible, weak. Yet the first time I tried it, on a whim in Montauk, New York, those miraculous few seconds when I…

EVER SINCE I was a little girl, I’ve wanted two things: to write books and to find a great love. I was a born romantic, making Cinderella aprons out of curtains and sweeping the hearth, dreaming of the prince. My mom, an OG feminist, was disgruntled. “It’s so regressive,” she said, replacing my princess dresses with overalls. As I grew, the pattern persisted. I got married at 23, when everyone else was partying in rooftop bars. I didn’t yearn for kids; I’d tossed my baby doll in a dumpster. But I had love—until my husband and I realized he didn’t understand why I wanted to write books instead of having children. Cut to 20 years later. I’m a divorcée. A novelist—that dream, thank God, has come true. A writing teacher,…

Oprah: Welcome, Brené! The first conversation you and I had together almost nine years ago was also the first episode ever of our Super Soul podcast. And I hear that two-part interview has been downloaded 4.2 million times! Brené Brown: Whoa! OW: That says to me that what you’re putting out into the world is something people are hungry for, and you’ve done it again with Atlas of the Heart. You open the book with this epigraph from Rumi: “Heart is sea, language is shore.” Is that the book’s organizing principle? BB: Our hearts are seas of expansiveness, of emotion, of experience. At some point, those emotions and experiences need to be articulated. Language is a kind of life jacket. But often people aren’t equipped with the words to describe…

1.Serve Up Some Leftovers Just about 11 percent of American families don’t have enough to eat, but 30 to 40 percent of the food in this country ends up in the trash. That math didn’t add up for Robert Lee, the son of Korean immigrants, who was raised in a food-insecure household in Queens, New York. He launched Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, which crowdsources volunteers to ferry extra food from restaurants, shops, and schools to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and other charitable organizations. And those extras add up—in 2020, the organization redirected 1.5 million pounds of food, or roughly 17 tons per week. The group operates in 16 cities, from the South to the Midwest, with volunteers signing up online to staff pickup and drop-off events near them—cutting waste and feeding…

CAVE CANEM In 1996, poets Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady created Cave Canem Foundation to provide space and support for Black poets. Since its founding, Cave Canem has counted among its fellows many of the era’s most exceptional American poets, including Jericho Brown, Robin Coste Lewis, Morgan Parker, and Gregory Pardlo. Pulitzer Prize–winning alum Tyehimba Jess describes his experience there this way: “The group of Black poets I’ve met through Cave Canem forced me to challenge myself to make the very best poem I could on the page, to never stop until I was spent with the effort in mind and spirit. It’s this kind of kinetic urgency that Cave Canem fellows feel in poetry workshops and at the many readings and events we sponsor throughout the year. The trail…

LH: You have a roving curiosity that’s led you to investigate a variety of topics from a young age. What role does curiosity play in your work? MA: It’s primary. Though unlike the cat, it hasn’t killed me yet. I spent a lot of my childhood in the woods, so resources were limited—no schools, movies, libraries, flush toilets, electricity, etc.—but there were books of all kinds, and many rotten logs. You never knew what might be in the books, or under the logs. A newt? Anne Boleyn? I was also puzzled by some of the customs and attitudes “civilized” people displayed, and why they sometimes thought or did what they did—many untrue and unfair things, it seemed to me. I’ve just continued with the books and the logs, and also…

When it launched in 1982, Newsweek called Library of America “the most important book publishing project in our nation’s history.” Among its initial board members were Eudora Welty and Robert Penn Warren. It was envisioned by literary critic Edmund Wilson, who feared that many works by America’s best writers were out of print or hard to find and needed a concerted publishing effort to preserve them. The LOA editions encompass all periods and genres—classics, neglected masterpieces, and historically important documents and texts. (loa.org)…

AS A CHILD growing up in Pakistan under a dictatorship, Urooj Arshad watched as the rights of women and minority groups were stripped away. “That was very formative for me,” she says. “So after I came out in college in the U.S., I started doing work to support the LGBTQIA+ community around the world.” Today Arshad, 46, is the senior program manager for Dignity for All at Freedom House in Washington, D.C., an organization that promotes democratic change around the world by tracking and analyzing political and civil rights globally. Arshad’s work is critical because she helps people in emergencies. “At Dignity for All, we support human rights defenders and civil society organizations that are under threat of being attacked, imprisoned, or worse because of their work on LGBTQIA+ rights,”…

WHEN A CLOSE friend died by suicide in 2018, Brandie Carlos felt lost. “He and I both struggled with depression, and we always helped each other get through it,” says the Los Angeles resident. Alone with her grief and trying to cope, she started searching online for a therapist she’d feel comfortable talking with but couldn’t find anyone who looked like her. “I came across Therapy for Black Girls, a directory of Black therapists, and thought that there must be something similar for Latinos.” But more searching proved there wasn’t, so Carlos decided to start one herself. “It felt like a divine assignment,” she says. A short time later, Therapy for Latinx (therapyforlatinx.com) was born. Today the directory has approximately 800 Latinx therapists across the country in 39 cities (with…

“While it’s true there is only so much we can do to control what happens to us in a time of great uncertainty, that doesn’t mean we are helpless in terms of how we respond. The activists and ideas we’ve introduced you to in this issue are proof of what happens when we determine not to live in fear and dread and instead decide,“Yes, I can continue to evolve as a citizen of this planet, and even work to make it better.” The poem “Change,” by Wendy Videlock, provides a radiant reminder that change isn’t just unavoidable—it offers a second chance. Change is the new, improved word for god, lovely enough to raise a song or implicate a sea of wrongs, mighty enough, like other gods, to shelter, bring together,…

DI SCOVE R RECI PE S AND MORE AT QUAKEROATS.COM…

3400 B.C. ANCIENT EGYPTIANS Upper-class men and women wear wigs for adornment and protection from intense heat and sunlight. 1500s QUEEN ELIZABETH I To keep her thinning hair under wraps, Her Majesty is now believed to have relied on a collection of more than 80 red wigs. 1775 MARIE ANTOINETTE The Queen of France’s signature pouf (yep, a piece) steals the show at the coronation of her husband, King Louis XVI. 1960s SYNTHETIC WIGS Faux hair is once again all the rage, thanks to trendy bouffant ‘dos and the introduction of affordable synthetics. 1970s NATURAL-ESQUE WIGS Following the Civil Rights Movement, hairpieces that mimic styles like the Afro gain popularity with Black Americans. 1986 DOLLY PARTON The star, an avid wig wearer, graces the Country Music Association Awards with her…

Challenge yourself to start with five minutes a day, then slowly build up to 30 minutes. You can stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, shake your hands out, shrug your shoulders, step side to side, add in a hip swing and a grapevine—go with what feels good. The point is to engage in nonstop movement set to the beats that keep you moving. We asked Sudeikis to create a playlist to get you started. Head to oprahdaily.com/sudeikis-playlist for the extended version. “THE BEST” by Tina Turner “GROWTH” by India.Arie “CAME HERE FOR LOVE” by Sigala, featuring Ella Rye “ONE LIFE” by Mark Ronson “LETTER TO THE PAST” by Brandi Carlile “BACK IN MY BODY” by Maggie Rogers “WE GOT LOVE” by Teyana Taylor, featuring Ms. Lauryn Hill “HOPE” by Fawn Wood…

PICTURE ME AS a 19-year-old at a college party, chatting with a new friend or crush, hearing about their hometown, then trying to explain who I am. “My short story,” I’d say, “is that in 1978, my mother was cut down by a brain aneurysm. It paralyzed her body on one side and scrambled her personality and behavior. She was 38. I was 12.” Seeing the horror and pity in the other person’s eyes, I would rush to reassure them that my mother being permanently disabled didn’t strike me as particularly tragic. Sure, she never worked again, and her life, and mine, was never the same. But I soldiered through. With my brother, sister, and a family friend who was our caretaker, I adapted to the duties of dressing and…

WITH THE EXCEPTION of the South, American regions are often characterized as forward-leaning: The West and Midwest are wild frontiers of gritty innovation and expansionism; the East and Northeast are fast-paced centers of culture, commerce, industry, and opportunity. That leaves the South as the “backward other,” claims Imani Perry in her provocative, perspective-shifting South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation (Ecco). In it, Perry reexamines that characterization, complicating it and calling it into question by reminding us that good, bad, and indifferent, the South is the birthplace of much of what makes America America. “[The South] is really the core of what the nation is,” she writes, “often the vanguard of where we are going as a country.” “Tell about the South,”…

Seattle philanthropist Nancy Nordhoff founded this literary retreat in 1985. The Whidbey Island oasis she purchased as a working farm has hosted a global community of women writers, who draw inspiration from the idyllic surroundings, for highly sought-after writing residencies. A stay at Hedgebrook includes a cottage of one’s own, instructions on how to build cozy fires, and nightly chefprepared meals at the farmhouse for fellowship and community building. Since its founding, Hedgebrook has hosted nearly 2,000 writers, among them Eve Ensler, Gloria Steinem, and Natalie Baszile. (hedgebrook.org)…

ONE IN FOUR moms in the U.S. goes back to work 10 days after childbirth. One in six people spends about 20 hours a week caring for a sick or elderly relative. These are the stats that drive Katie Bethell in her fight for a paid leave policy in America, the only industrialized nation that doesn’t have one. Bethell, a longtime leader of social change, realized the importance of paid leave more than 15 years ago, when she was at MomsRising, a family rights organization. “I would speak to groups of women, and they would say, ‘This is what it was like during the first week of my baby’s life.’ Or ‘This is what it was like when I was saying goodbye to my father on his deathbed,’ ” she…

Health and wellness finds to get your New Year off to a great start.…

Line Item Confession: I regularly get Botox on my face but not around my eyes—I like my crow’s-feet. To soften them, though, I’ve been using this peptide-and hyaluronic-acid-rich eye cream. Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream, $55; clinique.com FACE VALUE Derms I’ve spoken with say we’re facing an epidemic of overexfoliation. Sure, you want glowing skin, but it shouldn’t look like a ripe tomato. This treatment gently sloughs away dead skin cells with fruit acids and reduces redness with niacinamide and Japanese mugwort. Tatcha The Texture Tonic, $59; tatcha.com Scarlet Fever Think you can’t pull off a big, bold red? Reconsider! The six shades in this new line (including the classic crimson here) flatter all skin tones. L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Reds of Worth in Hopeful Red, $9;…

SHAMPOO/CONDITIONER You should cleanse and condition your real hair weekly, and this duo is designed specifically for women wearing wigs, weaves, and protective styles. Curls Hair Under There Collection Detox Tea Cleanser and Bomb Braid In Conditioner, $11 each; walmart.com COOLING SERUM Is your scalp feeling itchy underneath your wig? Try a cooling serum that refreshes and alleviates irritation with aloe and tea tree oil. TPH by Taraji Ultra Chill, $12; tphbytaraji.com SCALP SCRUB In between installations, it’s a good idea to exfoliate away any adhesive, not to mention dirt, sweat, and oils. Kristen Ess Instant Exfoliating Scalp Scrub, $14; target.com HAIR MASK A protein-infused conditioning treatment fortifies and hydrates. Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair MegaStrength + Rice Water Protein + Moisture Strengthening Treatment, $42; sephora.com…

TAKE YOUR TEMP “Psychologists refer to the hot-cold empathy gap,” Santos says. “In a hot state, you’re really emotional—hungry, angry, scared. It’s hard to think of anything else and do a mindset shift.” INHALE, EXHALE To cool off, take a deep breath. “It activates your vagus nerve, which turns off your fight-or-flight system,” says Santos. ASK QUESTIONS Once you’re calm, reflect on your thoughts by asking four queries author Byron Katie developed, called “The Work”: Is it true? Can you absolutely know that it’s true? How do you react when you believe that thought? Who would you be without that thought? “Say the viewpoint you want to change is My body is terrible,” suggests Santos. “You insist, Yes, it’s true! But the second question forces you to stop and think.…

TAKE THE LONG VIEW “We can’t really change what’s happening or what we’re feeling, but we have some control over how we relate to our experience,” says psychiatrist Mark Epstein, author of The Zen of Therapy. “To see your reactions rather than being taken over by them—that’s the main move.” Here’s a hack to help see the forest, not the trees: Say your name. “The linguistic shift of talking to yourself in the third person disarms your defenses, putting you into a slightly more objective mode,” explains psychologist Ethan Kross. In his book Chatter, he describes neuroscientific studies that monitored subjects’ brain activity upon seeing disturbing photographs. Those who asked themselves, What is Jennifer feeling? showed much less emotional activity than those asking, What am I feeling?—and it took less…

Baldwin for the Arts in upstate New York was founded by author Jacqueline Woodson after winning Sweden’s Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2018—an award that came with a substantial cash prize. She says: “I have a quilt square my friend Melanie Hope made for me. It says, ‘You have to give it away to keep it.’ I truly believe this. Without other artists in the world, I wouldn’t be able to do my work. This money, and the help of others, allowed me to begin the work I had long dreamed of doing—creating a safe space for artists.” Artists can apply for literature, music composition, and visual arts residencies, which are free. Woodson’s hope is to “give artists the gift of uninterrupted creative time. The end game of course, is…

SUSPENSEFUL, SEDUCTIVE Perpetual West (Algonquin) unearths the secrets in a marriage as Elana searches for her missing husband, Alex, in a Mexico that challenges her fixed notions about love, language, and culture. Via Alana’s odyssey, the novel probes deeper themes, from fluidity of desire to the rigidity of racism to familial bonds. There’s a tang of rabble-rouser in Maren’s storytelling, something she comes by honestly. The daughter of prison reform activists, she grew up in rural Alderson, West Virginia, home to the first federal prison for women, founded in 1927. Her father operated a nonprofit hospitality house for families and friends of the incarcerated; as a girl, Maren accompanied him to visit inmates cut off by friends and relations. Now an assistant professor of creative writing at Duke, Maren shares that…

RHIANA GUNN-WRIGHT didn’t connect the asthma she suffered as a child in Chicago to pollution until she went to work as a policy analyst at the Detroit Health Department. “The head of the department was an epidemiologist, and he taught me the effects that environmental issues can have on public health,” she says. “I also discovered that industrial facilities were largely situated in poor Black and brown communities where they polluted the air and water. People were being poisoned.” Those findings inspired her life’s mission. Gunn-Wright went on to help develop the Green New Deal, which combines environmental, economic, and social policy to transition the U.S. to a zerocarbon economy. It was championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.), who introduced it as a resolution before the House of Representatives. Today…

WHEN LYSNE TAIT read an article in 2015 about homeless women who had no access to menstrual products, she immediately launched into action. She galvanized a group of friends, and within days they had collected $4,000 in donations. That same week, she filed the paperwork for Helping Women Period (HWP), a nonprofit based in Michigan that provides menstrual products to homeless and low-income women and girls. “We had people from all over the U.S. wanting to give us money,” says Tait, who is the cofounder and executive director. The issue resonates so deeply because “everyone who’s ever had a period has been in a situation where we didn’t have the product we needed,” says Tait, 52, a former teacher and a mother of three. “Most of us could just go…