Cover Photo: A detail of a painting of a woman holding a sword against her shoulder and turning her head to the right of the frame. From her neck bulges a large goiter. The background of the painting is dark; to her right is another woman in a headscarf.
Detail of Artemisia Gentileschi's "Judith and her Maidservant" (1615)/Palazzo Pitti

Finding a Face for My Invisible Illness

I could only acknowledge my thyroid condition from sly, sideways angles—a hobbit stealing from a sleeping dragon’s hoard.

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Judith and Her Maidservant

Lorraine is a journalist and fiction writer. Previously a staff writer for Smithsonian Magazine, she covers history, archaeology, evolution, and the weird world. She has received fellowships from the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources and the National Tropical Botanical Garden. Lorraine's first narrative nonfiction book, The Last Voyageurs, (Pegasus Books/April 2016) was a finalist for the Chicago Book of the Year award. Her fiction has appeared in The Massachusetts Review and Literary Laundry. She's currently at work on two novels about friendship and belonging.