Welcome
Miranda C. Spencer
Some may know me as Staff Editor at the webzine Mad in America ("science, psychiatry, and social justice"). But I'm also a freelance journalist and book editor who offers a nose for news, an ear for language, and an eye for detail gleaned from 30 years of eclectic publishing experience. My business provides writing and editing services to news media, publishers, and individuals. Together, we produce projects with purpose, power, and personality.
I recently relocated to rural New Hampshire, about two hours from Boston. Have ticket, will travel.
You can check out samples of my latest work below, then click on "Find Out More" to learn about my background. Don't forget to visit the Portfolios page!
Follow me on Twitter: @mirandacspencer
Visit my LinkedIn profile
Miranda C. Spencer, writer & editor
Journalism
Latest Work
Reframing Britney: Press and Public Waking Up to Guardianship Harms
Feature, Mad In America
May 9, 2021
Media coverage of Britney Spears' mental health published since her conservatorship’s inception has reflected conventional attitudes about “mental illness” that are stigmatizing and encourage legislation that promotes forced treatment. But now things are changing in both Spears’ world and media coverage of her case, as illustrated in The New York Times' documentary "Framing Britney." These shifts have brought overdue attention to the larger issue of the rights of people labeled mentally ill or disabled — and led to calls for guardianship reform.
Excerpt:
"Framing Britney has led to a change in the public’s view of Spears as somehow incapacitated. And it provided news hooks for many important and overdue conversations. It even prompted political action on guardianship and, by extension, the rights of people with mental illness labels. But these issues are not new. Multiple government reports and investigative article series on problems with guardianship have been published for years — the Associated Press did an exposé as far back as 1987 — only to be forgotten. Why only now are we starting to take both Spears’ case and guardianship abuse seriously? "
* Check out my guest appearance on the podcast "Mental Health Film Comment" June 10.
Book Editing
Latest Work
When Are We Going to Teach Health? : Let's Teach Health as if Each Child's Life Depends on It
Lioncrest Publishing, October 2020
By Duncan Van Dusen
In this concise call-to-action, the CEO of CATCH, one of the most widely-used youth health education programs in the world, makes a novel, sometimes irreverent case for prioritizing “Whole Child” health and Social and Emotional Learning in K-12 schools. He shows why health drives academic success, what makes teaching health effective, and how to create a school environment that delivers and sustains healthy behavior. Using case studies, tips, and recommended actions, he describes proven youth-empowerment and skills-based health education techniques to increase kids’ physical activity and healthy food choices and to decrease youth vaping.
I performed developmental, line, and copy editing on several iterations of the manuscript and provided feedback on cover design.
*This book has been nominated for a 2020 Foreword INDIE book award (Education category)!