Giana Ciapponi

civil war encyclopedia. researcher extraordinaire. documenter of defiant women.

promiscuity researcher. blogger. educator.

Ah, the holidays. Or, as it’s called in my family, the annual time of year to scrutinize and peer-pressure their darling daughter/niece/cousin/granddaughter over her eating habits.

Why not step outside your literary comfort zone this season with a throwback novel: Valley Of The Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann? The novel, written in 1966, follows the drug-addled lives and careers of three women in showbiz from 1945 to 1965.

We can’t control the events that the world will throw in our paths, but we do have the authority to manage our reaction to each and every one. That’s not to say that pain, fear, anger, and other negative emotions cannot play a role, but there comes a time when one must let go.

At some point in my teen years, I developed an unfathomable fear of being alone. Despite the warmth provided by my loving family and countless friends, I wanted to have some boy in my life. If I didn’t have a boyfriend, I had some back-burner type boy.