When Diane W. Mufson became a citizen member of the Herald-Dispatch editorial board in Huntington, West Virginia, little did she know the role would result in a monthly, then weekly, opinion column for the newspaper. Fifteen years and more than four hundred columns later, Mufson releases a collection containing seventy-three of her favorites: Dispatches of a Columnist: Opinions on Politics, Kids, Common Sense and Sex.
Bringing fresh insight as well as the right touch of humor and sentiment, Mufson has a talent for expressing the thoughts, emotions, and frustrations shared by many in America today. She divides the columns by topic into ten chapters, from "Chapter One: The Real America," which includes writings on important events such as 9/11 and the war in Iraq, to "Chapter Four: Family Lessons," where readers find her argument for Social Security in relation to her father, to "Chapter Ten: The Road Ahead," which explores topics such as immigration reform and the Affordable Care Act.
Those not familiar with Mufson's work, but who enjoy the opinion writing of Frank Bruni, Kathleen Parker, and Leonard Pitts Jr. will find in this collection a new voice on America to appreciate.
About the Author: Diane W. Mufson worked for more than thirty years as a licensed psychologist before retiring in 2013. During the latter part of her career, she became an op-ed columnist for the Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, West Virginia, a position she continues in today.
Mufson grew up in Long Beach, New York, earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont, and received master's degrees from Cornell University and Marshall University. Her psychology career also included a research role at the National Institutes of Health and a teaching position at Elmhurst College.
She now lives in West Virginia with her husband of more than fifty years, with whom she has three children and five grandchildren.