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
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Miranda C. Spencer, writer & editor
Journalism
Latest Work
"Voting While 'Mentally Ill': A Legacy of Discrimination
Feature, Mad In America
October 25, 2020
In the leadup to Election 2020, I took a deep dive into the archaic legal and practical barriers to voting that disenfranchise people judged "mentally incompetent."
Edited excerpt: " Individual states have added to the hoops voters must jump through to vote, including new voter-ID requirements and poll-watcher statutes that allow individuals to challenge other voters’ eligibility. Flying under the radar: legal and practical barriers to voting that disenfranchise people judged 'mentally incompetent,' which have persisted for centuries and disproportionately affect people of color.
"Each year, these provisions and practices, like other forms of voter suppression, mute the political voices of untold numbers of people with psychosocial and other mental disabilities who are capable of and interested in voting, including some of the 1.3 million adults under guardianship. Moreover, civil- and disability-rights advocates say, they hold them to a higher standard than the rest of the electorate, based on 'false narratives' about their lack of capacity."
* I discussed this story on the October 30, 2020 episode of the "Collab Chats" podcast, produced by Temple University's Collaborative on Community Inclusion for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities. Listen here.
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.