Just back from a much-needed break from the cold, snow, and ice: a week in San Antonio and Corpus Christi, where it was warm and sunny EVERY SINGLE DAY. And also I lost at miniature golf (twice).
Happy Tuesday, all, and it is PUBLICATION DAY for THE GREAT SHADOW: A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy!
Raise a glass, join my virtual publication party and post cheers!
www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/susan-w...
podcast.show/historically...
"Ms. Bauer winsomely threads scenes and vignettes from contemporary life throughout her book, especially from our polarized landscape, still haunted as it is by the Covid-19 pandemic."
Enjoy the reviews, and, if you're feeling like it, order a copy.
www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
And the Wall Street Journal says:
"The Great Shadow' benefits from Ms. Bauer’s keen sense for the way the bodily experience of disease so readily takes on psychological and spiritual freight..."
The New York Post writes: "Our evolving theories about what makes us sick haven’t just changed medicine, Bauer argues.They’ve shaped civilization itself, influencing our religions, political systems, consumer habits, prejudices, and even our understanding of the universe."
nypost.com/2026/01/17/w...
Two big events over the coming week--the pending icepocalypse and the publication date on Tuesday January 27, of my new book THE GREAT SHADOW: A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy. I am distracting myself from the upcoming loss of power with the two newest reviews.
I took a bit of a break from Substack over the holidays, but I'm back to work now. Come visit me there for my most recent post.
open.substack.com/pub/susanwis...
I'll be keynoting in Charleston, WV at the end of the month. On 2/20, I'm presenting at William and Mary. And the audiobook of THE GREAT SHADOW is an Audible "Most Anticipated in 2026" selection!
events.wm.edu/event/view/l...
www.audible.com/pd/The-Great...
wvhsn.betterworld.org/events/west-...
January friend trip IN the books. Charleston was beautiful and I love these crazy women.
Finally made it to Chicago for tomorrow's American Historical Association panel. Headed out to find a burger before bed...and every joint in the city has the Packers-Bears wild card game on the screen and is stuffed with fans.
I love Chicago. It's so purely its own particular thing.
Saturday, January 31, 2026
West Virginia Homeschool Connection Event 2026
Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center
Charleston, West Virginia
wvhomeschoolnetwork.com/home-248744
Sunday, January 11, 2026
American Historical Society Annual Meeting
Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
www.historians.org/events/annua...
11-12:30, What Historians Should Know about Classical Education
Hilton Chicago, Williford B
Quick January speaking update!
On 1/11, I’ll be chairing a panel discussion about classical education at the annual American Historical Society conference in Chicago. Guests welcome!
And on 1/31, I’m keynoting the WVHC annual meeting in Charleston, West Virginia, as well as doing a workshop.
2025!
And Barnes & Noble is running a preorder discount—order between 12/30 and 1/1 and get 25% off with the code PREORDER25. You have to have a B&N membership to get the discount, but signing up is free.
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-great-...
Anyway, two little pieces of news; the book was excerpted in the current issue of Scientific American, so hop over there and see if you like what you read.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/exce...
(You might think that how the book actually sells, once people start reading it and recommending it to others, is more important, but in the weird world of bookselling, the orders placed before readers actually have access to the whole work are a huge deal.)
Less than a month to go before publication date for my new book—it’s a slightly nerve-wracking time as we wait for final reviews and pre-order numbers.
Christmas.
A completely relaxed holiday with presents and burgers (they were delicious!) and homemade Yule log and cookies.
We all needed that.
It is time to sign off social media, and cook, and play games, and watch old movies, and feed animals.
So although I might pop back in with an update or two, I think it's now time to observe an older, deeper pattern of life, and step away until after Christmas.
I have rarely regretted *not* saying something. As a person, that is. As a writer and business owner, I feel massive pressure to stay...visible.
But, I resist. We're well into Advent, and I'm looking forward to Christmas.
Dear followers, the news has been dreadful over the past week; although I have observations I want to make about our world, and about classical education, and about history, and about all of the things I study and write about, I have simply felt that at the moment, silence is the wisest strategy.
I’m on board with all of the objections in this article. But none of this is NEW. It’s been going on for decades. This default to smaller, simpler, more digestible sections of literature has been part of American education since at least the 1970s.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-great-...
www.indigo.ca/.../the-grea...
www.amazon.com/Great-Shadow...
And the Audible version is now available for pre-order as well. Plenty of links below for your to explore--and thanks for following along.
www.audible.com/pd/The-Great...
www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?i...
www.instagram.com/p/DRQBjt3khyl/
www.libraryjournal.com/review/the-g...
Thank you, Library Journal! Additional thanks to Shelf Awareness ("informative and lively"), Arlene and Company ("a five star read"), and Booklist ("especially fascinating") for their reviews.
