About Finding Throughlines

Hi, I'm Ruth Ann Smalley, and Finding Throughlines is my new, independent publication launched in March 2025. By subscribing, you'll get full access to the website as well as short email newsletters when I publish new content. Your subscription makes this site possible. Together, we can build community around positive visions and steps to bringing them into reality. Thank you!

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This is a resource-rich enterprise. I'm something of an idea-packrat, with a PhD in English and a passion for conveying how amazing our planet is. I love sharing material that might help someone else learn, imagine, and act in positive ways. That's why I wrote my humorous picture book for kids about green living, called Sheila Says We're Weird, and why I'm at work on a middle-grades eco-adventure novel trilogy, called Defenders of Dirt.

And it's why I'm sharing ideas here for folks who might just feel more than ready to take on new roles in this new era of need.

Fresh, thoughtful ideas and analysis, delivered in small doses

I'm gleaning helpful information, wit, and wisdom from key current and past thinkers and doers, to help us understand and act in these rapidly-changing times. These nuggets will be easier to find in your inbox, once every week or so.

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