Professors Publishing Books
Featuring Professors Joan Connell and Stephen Howie
Story by Alex Honn
Joan Connell – Healing All Creation
Joan Connell, a senior instructor with 42 years of professional journalism experience, is getting ready to publish her first book “Healing All Creation: Genesis, The Gospel of Mark and The Story of the Universe.” Connell, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her work in religion and ethics, has worked as a religion journalist for much of her time in the profession. Her book, which is co-authored by scripture scholar Adam Bartholomew, brings an engaging conversation for “… people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious, and those who stand in awe of the beauties of science and the mysteries of the unfolding universe.”
Connell and Bartholomew aim to display the symmetries between Judeo-Christian scripture, evolution and an emerging cosmological theology. Looking at the scriptures from a non-partisan perspective, they use the stories to teach the value of compassion which is and will continue to be fundamental in saving and restoring our planet.
Having worked as an editor of multiple publications, an executive producer at MSNBC.com and as a religion journalist for much of her career, Connell was up to the task of telling an objective story that is easy to digest and engaging to read.
The book is to be published by Rowman & Littlefield in April 2019 and can be found on Amazon.com. Connell is planning to go on tour with her book to various national, regional and local bookstores and book festivals. In addition, she hopes to share “Healing All Creation” with churches and ministries.
Although retired from full-time journalism, Connell will continue her role as a faculty advisor for the Klipsun Magazine and continue to teach Mass Media Ethics (J350) at Western. If you get lucky, you may be able to find her teaching News Writing (J204) or Feature Writing (J404) at Western as well.
“I began my career at the Bellingham Herald and have always loved the Pacific Northwest,” Connell said. “So, when it came time to retire, I knew this was the place I wanted to be.”
For updates on the book’s release, check out the publisher’s page here.
Stephen Howie – Anticancer Living
In his most recent work, “Anticancer Living: Transform Your Life and Health with the Mix of Six ,” master writer and senior instructor at Western, Stephen Howie, gracefully tells the story of people and science to take an insightful look into the relationship between lifestyle choices and cancer. Howie helped produce Anticancer Living as a ghostwriter and collaborator. The book is authored by Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., and Alison Jefferies, MEd.
What started as a 30th-year reunion in Howie’s hometown turned into a two-and-a-half year project filled with interviews of doctors and patients, translating scientific jargon into common tongue and, of course, writing.
Having received his master’s degree in fiction writing, Howie was looking to write in addition to his role as a journalism professor at Western. At the reunion, he happened to meet an editor looking for writers. What transposed is an insightful book on a subject which has had an effect on most all of our lives, directly or indirectly.
The book is broken into two parts, the first “setting the table” and the second “the plan.” The reader gets exposed to both scientific studies and personal insights from cancer survivors, patients and doctors. The plan helps offer actionable lifestyle choices people can make to help prevent cancer, recover from cancer and/or stay cancer free out of remission.
Cancer is by no means in our control, but our relationship to the things which cause or prevent cancer is, and that is what this book delves into.
“Their mission is to spread the word that lifestyle has a proven impact on the cancer risk and outcome,” Howie explained.
One of the key takeaways, according to Howie, is that “everything you’re doing makes you more or less susceptible to cancer.”
This book’s publications follows the 2008 publication of “Anti-Cancer; A New Way of Life” by David Servan Schreiber, MD, Ph.D.
Schreiber, an individual who battled cancer multiple times in his life, set the stage for a relatable conversation about cancer, science and lifestyle.
Schreiber’s book became a bestseller instantly, his life story a large inspiration for the production of “Anticancer Living.” Howie and others worked closely with Schreiber to pick up where he left off and go one step further in offering a course of action to readers.
While producing this book, Howie experienced his own lifestyle changes and their widely positive effects. Taking on the challenge of ghostwriting this book was a path back into redefining himself as a writer and opened his eyes to his own lifestyle in a more life-centered way, Howie said.
It was evident in speaking with Howie that the stories he shares and the science which is interwoven began a shift in his awareness and understanding. As a lifelong learner and self-described “do-er,” this book added more tools to his tool belt and a field of awareness to use these tools in.
Howie worked as a professional journalist for 15 years prior to coming to Western Washington University in 2005. Currently working on another publication, Howie will remain teaching journalism classes at Western for the foreseeable future.
“Anticancer Living” was published by Penguin Books in May of 2018 and is available on Amazon.com, Audible, Google Books and at Barnes & Noble.