Jody Allard

Jody Allard

Bio

Jody Allard is a former techie turned freelance writer living in Seattle. Her online work has appeared on Time, xoJane, and Offbeat Home, among others. She writes primarily about food, family, mothering, and life with a chronic illness. 

Jody Allard Articles

SOS Found In Socks May Be A Hoax, But The Plight Of Chinese Workers Isn't

Shakhiel Akbar was shocked to find a letter describing the torture inflicted on Chinese factory workers tucked into the socks he bought at a British Primark store. He used his phone to translate the letter, which chronicled the plight of a 39-year-old factory worker.

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It’s taken me much longer to figure out how to simply eat in a way that feels right in my body, and to accept my body for what it is — broken, fat, and mine.

On Learning To Accept My Chronically Ill Body

My only regret is that I wasted nearly 40 years trying to bend my chronically ill body to an imaginary idea of perfection.

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credit: Ashley Anderson

Please Do Not Dub Sandra Bland A Crazy Black Woman

"Ultimately, it doesn't matter much whether Bland killed herself or was murdered. In both cases, she died because she was hauled into custody for a minor offense that didn't really even merit being pulled over to begin with. Maybe her head injury led to uncharacteristic behavior, or maybe the traumatic arrest triggered a severe PTSD episode, or maybe someone flat out killed her. But, in every case, she died because she was in that police cell."

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My Journey To Overcoming The Trauma Of Childhood Sexual Abuse

I didn't have a fairy-tale childhood, unless it was one of those dark and grim ones that really shouldn't be read to children.

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Mom Whose Infant Died On His First Day Of Daycare Asks "Why?"

Amber Scorah's son Karl was three months old when she dropped him off at his first day of daycare. When she returned two and a half hours later to breastfeed him on her lunch break, he was dead.

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Image via Sesame Street

Why It Matters That Sesame Street's First Muppet With Autism Is A Girl

It took five years for my daughter to be diagnosed with autism. There were dozens of red flags, beginning from the time she was about 10 months old, but her pediatrician always told me that she was fine. "She made eye contact with me," she reassured me. "She can't be on the spectrum." Besides, most children with autism, she reminded me, are boys.

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Image: AP

5 Times During the Presidential Debate That Republicans Showed They DGAF About Women

“I may not be your dream candidate just yet, but I can assure you I am Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare. And in your heart of hearts, you cannot wait to see a debate between Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina,” she said. “I will tell you this, I will beat Hillary Clinton."

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Bruce Willis Caters Meals for Firefighters Battling Idaho Wildfires

ICYMI, half of my home state of Washington, as well as our neighboring state of Idaho, has been or is currently on fire.

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