About Joanna/Dead of Winter

Contact me at: joannadeadwinter@gmail.com

Why Dead of Winter?

It sounds cool, I like winter, and I have made it my mission to be about cold, hard facts and cold, hard commentary. That’s it.

About Joanna:

The best way to get to know me is to read and comment on my blog, but here are some items for context.

I am:

• a native of New Hampshire who now lives in Maine
• a member of Phi Theta Kappa
• handicapped
• an aspiring chemistry major
• someone who loves to write and research
• a normal-weight deathfat
• non-healthist
• politically incorrect
• politically moderate
• someone with a huge range of hobbies and interests
• an intellectual
• silly
• introverted
• an adult convert to Roman Catholicism
• Unmarried
• Childless
• But not at all clueless

My background:

I have lived on both sides of the poverty line and have been in special education. My father was a successful businessman whose life was changed forever by bipolar disorder, alcoholism, and criminal activity. My mother is a domestic and part-time worker with some formal education. My parents are now divorced and I have a decent relationship with both of them. I have an older sister. For most of my life, I have been an honor student and I have a strong background in the fine arts. I was not raised in any particular religion tradition but my father was Congregationalist and my mother is a lapsed Roman Catholic, and most of my connections have ties to a Christian denomiation. So you could say that I was raised to be Christian, and even more so Roman Catholic, by culture. I love animals, but am especially fond of cats and fish and have owned many of them.

Why I started this blog:

I started this blog in July of 2010 because I like to think and write and wanted a place to do just that and share it with the world. Two years prior to that, I had found fat acceptance on accident. I was reading about modern obstetrics and it so happens that the owner of the site I was reading had a link to various skeptics’ blogs. Sandy’s Junkfood Science was one of them. At the time, I had a long history of being bullied for being too fat, too inactive, and having health problems. At least one of my relatives has a full-blown eating disorder. In addition, like most healthy, postpubescent girls, I had gained a lot of weight. If that wasn’t hard on me already, some people just HAD to make it harder.

Are you amazed yet that I have never been on a diet, nor seriously attempted it?

Fat acceptance, as you can imagine, was a Godsend for me.

Before starting this blog, I commented on other fat acceptance blogs, not all of which gave me a warm welcome.:) So I decided that I needed my own space to hash things out. Since then, I have amassed a collection of fat acceptance blogs on which I not only feel welcome, but that I feel others can enter as well and find what they need.

As you can probably see, I love to blog about religion, about feminism and men’s rights activism, and anything else that comes to my mind. I am a naturally shy person, so blogging is a huge release. It allows me to organize my thoughts and present them to a wide audience. At the same time, I interact with that audience on my terms.

And here I am.

DISCLAIMER: I, unfortunately, have no professional credentials or experience in any field. I hold no positions of power in the Church or anywhere else, so if you are seeking someone with any of the above, you will have to look elsewhere. However, I will be happy to direct you to some resources. Try my sidebar to get started.

If you are looking for a well-rounded, educated member of the laity who is open, who cares, and who wants to talk, you’re in the right place. Should you not find what you need here, again, look to my sidebar and God bless.