Featured Articles from Issue 56
Mari Ziolkowski, PhD, embodies a remarkable breadth of multicultural experience. Her background spans academic and experiential/altered state study of the Hindu goddess tradition to living and working with traditional African spiritual practices in New Orleans and even risking her own safety while researching human rights abuses in Guatemala. Culturally, she is truly well-rounded. Despite her extensive experience, she remains grounded—warm, approachable, and full of bubbly enthusiasm, her presence brightened by a childlike, sparkling smile.
Discover Ann Arbor native Nicole Leffler's inspiring journey from retail and cannabis to founding ALCHEMY Holistic Collective in Chelsea, MI. Explore IASIS Micro Current Neurofeedback for anxiety, PTSD, and nervous system reset, plus Scar Release Therapy for postpartum and surgical scars, intuitive business consulting via Dharma Hive, and holistic wellness offerings.
A decade after falling in love with Hamilton's "Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now," this personal reflection explores shifting from optimism to unease in turbulent times. Drawing on Eliza's line—"Look at where you are, look at where you started. The fact that you’re alive is a miracle"—and Niall Williams' This Is Happiness, it affirms our role in carrying the past into the future with gratitude and perseverance.
More from Issue 56
The moon has a way of catching a child’s eye. It lingers above treetops, follows the car home, disappears for a few nights, then returns—quiet, steady, familiar. For parents, it’s a reminder to pause, to notice, and to reconnect with something simple yet deeply grounding: the rhythm of nature itself.
As the Director of Washtenaw My Brother’s Keeper (WMBK), Jamall Bufford makes a powerful impression of warmth and conviction. “Everyone sees his heart,” his colleague Justin Harper said. “Jamall is a great person. It is easy to work with him because he is a good listener, a team player, and completely true to his convictions. When someone has those qualities, a lot of great things can happen.”
What does normal even mean?” Jonathan Buckman asked. Buckman is not normal—he is unique and extraordinary by any measure, and that is what makes him such a great therapist, social worker, practitioner, neighbor, and friend. “Jonathan has attained master level accomplishments in so many domains, but you would never guess it if you were meeting him for the first time,” his bandmate, neighbor, and co-conspirator Jeff Gladchun told me. “You couldn’t ask for a better friend than Jonathan. He is one of a kind.”
