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

Study Finds That You're Probably Eating Horse and Beaver

In case ground meat wasn't sketchy enough, a new study by Chapman University found that as much as twenty percent of specialty ground meats are mislabeled –– and many include ground horse and even beaver.

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Scientists Discover Ancient Viruses In the Arctic That Will Probably Kill Us All

No, really. It turns out that incredibly strong viruses have been chilling in the arctic (see what I did there?) for millennia, and NOW they are being uncovered by the melting of the ice.

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"Make no mistake, Seattle parents are in it for the long haul."

School Is Closed Until Further Notice and Seattle Has Some Explaining to Do

Here's the thing, though. Seattle teachers didn't want to strike. What they wanted were reasonable class sizes, less focus on teaching to the test, and livable wages. These are fair and reasonable demands, and that is why parents throughout Seattle have rushed to the picket lines to support our teachers.

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Autism.

I Don't Always Feel Compassion For My Autistic Child — And I'm OK With That

For all of the touchy-feely awesomeness of the idea of "focusing on compassion," there are moments in life when it's simply not practical. One of those moments is when it takes every last bit of internal fortitude simply to survive.

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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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Kentucky Clerk Sent to Jail For Defying Order to Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses

To further emphasize what can only be described as a batshitcrazy level of hypocrisy, a petition has been started on change.org to ensure that Davis receives the Biblical treatment for her own "misdeeds" –– stoning. While I wouldn't go quite that far, the point is taken. Multiple other petitions have also been started to remove her from office.

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Credit: ThinkStock

5 Ways Not To Be A Jerk To Your Friend With A Chronic Disease

I don't believe that you're incapable of treating me and my friends with compassion. Maybe you just need a little help.

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President Obama Reminds Us How To Treat Refugees With Touching HONY Comment

If you follow Humans of New York on Facebook like I do, you probably ugly cry at least once a day. Right now, they are interviewing Syrian refugees who have successfully completed the multi-year process to become approved to enter the United States, and their stories are particularly heart-breaking.

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Wal-Mart Stopped Caring About Your Gun Rights

Wal-Mart, home to broken dreams, poor fashion choices, and a whole lot of guns.

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I'm Not The Crazy Ex: What We Need To Learn From The McLeod Rape Case

The thing about trauma is that it creates inherently unreliable witnesses. Victims tell as much as they can bear to tell, in that moment, and perhaps even as much as they can remember. Memories can be hazy and dim until the second that the curtain is lifted and the body is thrust back into the moment of abuse. There is no such thing as one way of processing trauma, and there is no perfectly linear path to recovery, either.

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