DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 1 Article 4
Fall 12-1-2017
Submissions
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(2017) "Submissions," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 1 , Article 4.
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About:  The Prairie Light Review is the College of DuPage art 
and literary journal. We are a student-run, biannual publica-
tion that seeks to honor and showcase the creative talents of 
our diverse community. All of the material in this magazine is 
the work of students and residents of the District of 502. Each 
piece has been selected blindly to ensure objectivity.
Prairie Light Review can be picked up in the Library, MacAn-
nich Arts Building, and outside of our office at SSC 1227
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et al.: Submissions
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English

Submissions

Weis, Robin

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 1 Article 11
Fall 12-1-2017
Brother
Robin Weis
College of DuPage
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The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Weis, Robin (2017) "Brother," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 1 , Article 11.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss1/11
5Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
Robin Weis,
“Brother”. Oil on canvas. 
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5Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
Robin Weis,
“Brother”. Oil on canvas. 
PLR F2017 FINAL.indd   5 11/1/2017   4:51:16 PM
1
Weis: Brother
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Brother

Shubert, Jessica

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 1 Article 27
Fall 12-1-2017
The Prettybird Plight
Jessica Shubert
College of DuPage
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The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
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Shubert, Jessica (2017) "The Prettybird Plight," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 1 , Article 27.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss1/27
19Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
Prettybird Plight
Jessica Shubert
 Tuesday: 
 It all started with the bulldog. 
 Long have I watched Master throw the sodden fuzzgreen 
down the hallway of the apartment, only to have it brought back 
by the bulldog in even worse straits.  Master’s face would widen 
and he would posit, “Who’sagoohboyden, eh?  Who’sagoohboy?”  
Then Master left shortly after sunrise yesterday and refused to 
feed the bulldog before leaving.  Master later showed signs of re-
morse and claimed to have forgotten, but we know better. 
 “Maybe,” the bulldog says between bites of the fuzzgreen 
as he waits with ascetic meditation for Master to return from his 
daily ritual.  “Maybe the goohboy ain’t me.”  His watery eyes 
wobble up to where I have perched upon my swing.  “Maybe 
s’you?”  But I pretend not to hear.  He licks his jowls with that 
slobbery tongue.  “Maybe I done somethin’ wrong.  Maybe I got 
to leave fr’im to come back.  Maybe he don’t want me here no 
more, cuz I ain’t no goohboy.” 
 “Don’t be ridiculous,” I tell him. 
 “Oh?  An’ how’s you s’posed t’know why he don’t come 
back?” he asks, coming closer to my abode with his lumbering 
gait.  “You’s th’one he cages, bird.  How’d y’know it ain’t your 
fault?” 
 “This is a palace, not a cage, you plebeian.” 
 Unable to respond to my scathing reply, the bulldog returns 
to his meditative chewing and remains silent.  For preference, I 
compose with my jinglebell, but I, too, begin to wonder what caus-
es the Master’s suffering to be so great that he feels compelled to 
withhold his presence from us every day. 
   
 Wednesday: 
 Master has recently supplied my abode with a shining 
device.  I, being an appreciator of the finer arts, thought it was 
another jinglebell, but when I approached it, not only did it refuse 
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20Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
to jingle whatsoever, but I also caught within it glimpses of another 
parakeet. 
 I have realized that this device is clearly a portal, which will 
not do. 
 No matter how well I seek to tune the jinglebell, Master’s 
face widens in that same cringe as when the bulldog gives him the 
fuzzgreen which he is clearly trying to dispose of.  The uncultured 
swine in the portal won’t go near his jinglebell, but this may be a 
tactic to win Master’s attention.  I have tried singing as well, only 
the new parakeet mocks me.  Desperate, I have torn down his por-
tal thrice, but Master seems upset with me for this and always clips 
it back up and speaks softly to it. 
 “Who’saprettybird?” he asks on occasion.  I know not who 
he asks.  Who is the prettybird?  I once swore I was he, with my 
artfully curved beak, my vibrant green wings, my sweet little 
talons heralding the ancestry from the mighty hawk.  Then I found 
this fetching fellow from the portal.  His face is a radiant yellow, 
and his back is dappled with mysterious black patterning!  How is a 
bird to compete with someone so dapper and dashing? 
 I have consulted the poor devil I find visiting me sometimes 
in my water dish.  His face is bleary and strange and he’s a quiet 
sort, but he gives me a meaningful look and I know that he agrees 
with me.  There can only be one prettybird, and I fear it may not 
be me. 
 In vain, I swing on my perch like the bulldog retrieves the 
fuzzgreen, but I am only fooling myself.  If I truly cared for Mas-
ter, I would wait until the next time he opened my chamber door to 
fill my dish with seeds and I would fly away to join those bumbling 
robins and those dastardly sparrows beyond the square in the wall.  
I would leave Master and his prettybird alone instead of forcing 
him to choose between us, but I can never bring myself to go.  My 
splendor, while not enough to outclass the portal parakeet, may be 
too strong for my unrefined raptor brethren.  I must perch in wait 
in this nighttime darkness, as they do, for the proper choice to come 
along for me to pounce on like an unsuspecting seed in the wild. 
   
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21Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
 Thursday: 
 Today, one of those uncouth pigeons who so enjoy sitting on 
the railing outside of the wall-square were sniggering.  Sniggering!  
They called me a fluff!  How dare they! 
             And once again, Master has fled the apartment for 
sorrow.  It is, I’m afraid, now or never. 
             Ducking from the view of the portal, I call to the 
bulldog on the floor, “Ho, sir!  Your attention, please.” 
             He unfolds his limbs with a series of grunts and 
yawns before glaring up at me.  “Yeah?  Whatcha want now, fluff-
bird?” 
 The indecency of my neighbors these days is simply galling.  
I beat my wings with impatience.  “None of that!  Listen closely.  
Today, I take my leave of this place, and for that, I will need a fa-
vor of you.  I want you to make a cake, do you understand?  Then 
you must don a disguise as my butler and enter my abode.  Leave 
me the cake and I will use it to distract the other bird while I es-
cape.” 
             For a few moments, the bulldog is dumbfounded by 
my master plan.  “Oth’r bird?” 
 “Keep your voice down, you may alert him!” I hiss, glancing 
back at the portal.  There is no sign of the prettybird. 
 But the bulldog bridles.  “Oi, mist’r, I ain’t helpin’ you bust 
outta nowhere!  Whadda I look like, some sorta crim’nal?” 
 “Can’t you use your unparalleled salivary prowess to damp-
en these bars until they rust, then?” 
 “Where you gettin’ these crazy ideas?”  The bulldog’s ears 
rise.  “Ooh, I bet it’s from the teevee!  S’where all the crim’nals’re 
at.  Y’don’t even know what’s a cake, I bet.  You’re a bad boy!” 
 “Cease that nonsense!” I shout down at him. 
 “An’ y’talk funny, too!”  He runs in a circle.  “Bad boy!  I 
gotta stop you!” 
 Oh, squawk.  This has gone to rot.  The prettybird will be 
onto me now.  I must act quickly, before Master returns. 
 “Stop, bird!” the bulldog continues to bark as I rush to the 
ground level of my abode in a flurry of shavings.  There is a sliver 
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22Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
I have extracted from one of my woodbits dangling from the jingle-
bell.  I snatch it up in my most powerful talons and soar to my 
front entrance.  It is latched, of course, to keep suitors and thieves 
out, but these are desperate times.  Under the duress of the bark-
ing, I reach the sliver out between the bars and use it to alter the 
latch. 
 Master would have never provided me with the woodbits 
and latch were I never meant to leave, after all.  I wanted to leave 
in dastardly fashion to make my exodus suitable to my undesirable 
nature, but this will have to do. 
 Voices come from beyond sight: “What’s happening in 
there?”  This voice is Master’s. 
 “I don’t know, he just started barking for some reason!” 
another voice says. 
 Knowing my time has run out, I twist the sliver to push the 
latch up from the catch.  My door falls forward and I drop the sliv-
er, swooping with all the grace of my predator ancestors. 
 “Stop!” the bulldog goes on, but I fly past his reach for the 
wall square.  His barking has deterred the pigeons.  My way is 
clear. 
 The wall-rectangle on the other side of the room opens.  
“What the—” 
 “Farewell!” I cry out in valediction and close my eyes in 
anticipation of freedom. 
 But the square rejects me.  I crash with an unbecoming peep 
and flutter down to the table. 
 ‘What is this?  A force field!’  I struggle against it to no 
avail.  I mustn’t keep Master trapped here with me!  I mustn’t force 
him to suffer more than his heart was meant to endure! 
 Footsteps thunder behind me and the warm fleshwings of 
kindness enfold me.  “Whoa there, fella!  What are you doing out 
of your cage?” 
 I make no attempt to explain—tragically, my voice is too 
sweet for humans to decipher. 
 “Escapin’, boss!” the bulldog offers anyway, though I sus-
pect his own vernacular is difficult for anyone without my refined 
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The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 40, No. 1 [2017], Art. 27
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23Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
Molly Miklosz,
Continuum. Colored 
pencil.
hearing to understand.  “I stopped ’im, though!  I got ’im!” 
 “Alright, alright,” Master says, giving the bulldog the es-
teemed Pat On The Head.  “G’boy, buddy.” 
  At very least, it shuts the brute up. 
Master looks at the abode and the sliver I’ve left on the floor.    
 “Wow...you got out all by yourself?  Pretty smart bird...” 
 Pretty...prettysmart...
 His fleshwings deposit me in the entrance hall of my abode.  
“There.  I’ll have to get a wire tie or something to make sure that 
doesn’t happen again . . .” 
 “Hark, prettybird!” I cry up to the portal, hopping gleeful-
ly.  “Ho, do you hear?  Handsome, you may be, but in cleverness, 
you have met your superior, ha-ha!  I’d like to see you do what I’ve 
done, oh, indeed!  Oho, nihil dicit!” 
 Master tears his eyes away from my masterminded grace to 
look at the wall-square, where he must have put up the force field to 
prevent me from leaving him.  “I guess you just got lonely without 
any other birds to chatter at, huh?  Maybe I’ll have to get you some 
friends.” 
 “Oh, snap,” the bulldog snorts.  I have paused in my cele-
bration to consider this prospect. 
 ... More competitors? 
No, I brilliantly contrive as I fly back up to my jinglebell to practice 
accompanying it with an evil laugh. 
Minions! 
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Shubert: The Prettybird Plight
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The Prettybird Plight

Hurst, Sean

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 1 Article 33
Fall 12-1-2017
Residual
Sean Hurst
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Hurst, Sean (2017) "Residual," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 1 , Article 33.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss1/33
1Hurst: Residual
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Residual

Santangelo, Ryan

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 1 Article 55
Fall 12-1-2017
Dripping With Blood
Ryan Santangelo
College of DuPage
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The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Santangelo, Ryan (2017) "Dripping With Blood," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 1 , Article 55.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss1/55
63Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
Dripping with Blood
Ryan Santangelo
Once upon a time, there was a little old lady, sitting in a rocking 
chair in her living room, knitting a sweater on a calm, quiet, 
Sunday evening. All of a sudden, the phone next to her rings. 
She picks up the phone and hears, “I’m one block away dripping 
with blood.” The old lady confusingly says, “What did you say?” 
And then the caller hangs up. The old lady thought this was 
very strange, but she didn’t think much of it. She just ignored it, 
and continued to knit her sweater.  
       
     Unexpectedly, her phone rings again about a minute later. 
She picks up the phone, “Hello?” She hears the caller say, “I’m 
half a block away dripping with blood.” The old lady exclaims, 
“Who is this? Why are you calling me? What are you-” the call-
er hung up the phone before she could finish speaking. The old 
lady began to feel a little nervous, so she got up from her rocking 
chair to close the blinds on her window, and lock all the doors. 
She tried to calm herself down by taking a few deep breathes, sat 
back down, and continued to knit her sweater. She tried to not 
think about the strange phone calls that she’s been receiving.  
     
     About a minute later, the lady’s phone rang again. Slowly, 
the lady picked up her phone, and brought it to her ear. As she 
answered the phone, her hands were trembling, and her palms 
were sweaty, “Hello?” She said in fear. The caller said, “I’m 
right in front of your door, dripping with blood.” The lady 
dropped her phone, and ran into her basement as quickly as she 
could. She slammed the door shut, and locked it. She crouched 
behind a couch in her basement, trembling in fear. She prayed 
that the person calling her would leave her house, and leave her 
alone.  
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64Prairie Light Review  Fall 2017
      
     Suddenly, the lady feels her leg start to vibrate. Her cellphone was 
ringing. She took her phone out of her pocket, and looked at it. It was 
an unknown number. With butterflies in her stomach, and her hands 
shaking, she slowly answered her phone. “Hello?”, she said. The call-
er was breathing heavily into the phone for a few seconds, then finally 
says, “I’m right behind you, dripping with blood.”  
      
     Shaking in fear, the old lady drops her phone, slowly creeps up 
from behind the couch, and turns around. She sees... her grandson! 
Her 8-year-old grandson Johnny, who lives about a block away, had a 
cut on his finger, which was dripping with blood.  
 
     The grandma says, “Johnny you scared the daylights out of me! 
What did you do to your finger?” Johnny responded, “I was play-
ing with my new arts and crafts kit, and then I cut my finger with 
my scissors trying to make a paper snowman. And then we didn’t 
have bandaids at my house! So mommy told me to come here.” The 
old lady said, “Oh my poor baby. But why were you talking in that 
creepy voice on the phone?” Johnny said, “I was pretending to be a 
ghost, Grandma! And my finger was dripping with blood!”  
 
     The grandma was so relieved to see that it was just her grandson. 
She gave Johnny a bandaid, and kissed his finger. Then she brought 
him into the kitchen so they could bake cookies together. They en-
joyed some delicious, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies to end a 
very emotional night.
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The Prairie Light Review, Vol. 40, No. 1 [2017], Art. 55
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Dripping With Blood

Avercheva, Olga

ESSAI
Volume 15 Article 8
Spring 2017
Alexithymia and Eating Disorders
Olga Avercheva
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai
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ESSAI by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Avercheva, Olga (2017) "Alexithymia and Eating Disorders," ESSAI: Vol. 15 , Article 8.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol15/iss1/8
1 
Alexithymia and Eating Disorders 
 
by Olga Avercheva 
 
(English 1102) 
 
 
 
motions are the primary reaction of the human psyche to various life situations and events. 
They are the signals of orienting and guiding person’s thoughts and actions. Moreover, 
emotional experience occurs spontaneously and always affects human consciousness, and the 
inner spiritual world, as well as physiological processes of the body. Most of the mentally healthy 
people realize, in varying degrees, the emotions they experience and can categorize those emotions 
verbally. However, according to Karukivi et al., approximately 10% of the total adult population is 
unable to do so (2010, p. 227). This phenomenon was discovered relatively recently and named 
alexithymia1, which literally means “no words for mood.” 
 Alexithymia does not mean the absence of emotions; alexithymics experience the same 
spectrum of emotions as an average person. Indeed, their main problem is the impossibility to 
express these feelings and to differentiate them from physical sensations, which ultimately lead to a 
sense of inner dissatisfaction, much distress, and consequently, to numerous psychosomatic and 
psychiatric disorders including abnormal eating behaviors. Furthermore, the presence of alexithymic 
personality traits has a direct correlation with the possibility of development of anorexia nervosa 
(AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED) and severity of their manifestation. 
 Despite the relatively low prevalence rates, about 3.2% of the adult population of the United 
States suffers from some forms of eating disorder2 (www.nimh.nih.gov), they have the highest 
mortality rate among all mental illnesses (Arcelus et al., 2010, p. 729). It was noted that many of 
these patients had problems differentiating their physical feelings from their emotions and correlating 
episodes of their abnormal eating behavior with any emotional stimulus. These observations led 
researchers to propose that one of the predisposing factors or causes of occurrence and development 
of these pathological conditions was the low level of emotional awareness in these patients, which is 
so typical for alexithymia (Budlowski et al., 2005, p. 325). 
 In regard to this hypothesis and to better understand the alexithymia phenomenon, and also in 
order to develop effective strategies for the treatment of these dangerous disorders, a number of 
scientific studies were conducted.  Kessler, Schwarze, Filipic, and Traue, a group of researchers from 
the University Clinic of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the Ulm University, 
Germany, under the supervision of Professor Joern von Wietersheim, a vice director of Department 
of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Ulm University Medical Center, performed one of 
them in 2006. The main purpose of this research was to find support for an idea that alexithymia is 
relevant to eating disorders (ED), such as anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), and to 
find out whether the inability of facial emotions recognition is the one of the components of 
alexithymia, or an independent skill. 
 In the article “Alexithymia and facial emotion recognition in patients with eating disorders,” 
researchers claim that patients with ED are “clearly alexithymic and show psychopathologic 
symptoms” (Kessler et al., 2006, p. 248). They found evidence supporting this statement in the 
results of the research, in which the group of 79 female patients with eating disorders and the control 
group of 78 healthy female volunteers were tested by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale questionnaire. 
Comparative analysis of the data gained during the test showed that the patients with AN and BN had 
a higher rate of alexithymia traits than the control group in the subscales Difficulties Identifying 
Emotions and Difficulties Describing Emotions. However, the scores of both groups in the scale of 
E
1
Avercheva: Alexithymia and Eating Disorders
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2 
facial emotion recognition examined by the FEEL Test did not have any significant differences. This 
allowed the scientists, in contradistinction to previous theories, to conclude that “emotion recognition 
from faces and alexithymia are two independent phenomena” (p. 248). 
 A similar study was conducted by a group of Italian scientists headed by Alesandro Carano, 
MD of psychiatry, from the Oncology and Neurosciences Department of the Institute of Psychiatry of 
University “G. d’Annunzio” in Chieti and under the supervision of Filippo Maria Ferro, a professor 
of psychiatry. However, the purpose of this work was to reveal the place that alexithymia and body 
dissatisfaction occupy in the development of binge eating disorder (BED) and the extent of its 
manifestation. 
 The study involved more than 100 patients of both genders, suffering from BED, selected by 
special parameters to maintain purity of the experiment, and which were examined by TAS-20, the 
Binge Eating Scale (BES), the Body Shape Questionnaire-Short Version (BSQ-S), and some other 
techniques.  As a result, 39.6% were found to have alexithymic trait, compared to 13% in the general 
population. Further analysis of the data showed that patients with BED and alexithymia stated a 
higher severity of disorder and body dissatisfaction than patients without this personal trait. Carano et 
al. concluded that “the presence of alexithymia could play an indirect role in the pathogenesis of 
BED, facilitating the presence of depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem” (2006, p. 337). 
 Funded from the Turku University Foundation and the Turku Municipal Health Care and 
Social Services, research undertaken by a scientific team from University of Turku, Finland, in 
contradistinction to the two previous one, was designed to identify and evaluate the interconnection 
of eating disorders symptoms and alexithymia in a non-clinical adolescent population sample. 
Participants, whose average age was 19 years, were examined by the SCOFF (“Sick,” “Control,” 
“One,” “Fat,” “Food”) Questionnaire, specializing in the main symptoms of anorexia nervosa and 
bulimia nervosa, and also by the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Data derived from of the 
statistical analysis of the results showed a distinct correlation between alexithymia and eating 
disorder symptoms in adolescents, and that, compared to the non-alexithymic sample, alexithymic 
adolescents had a higher risk of developing an ED. Also, they found no evidence pointing to a 
mediating role of sociodemographic factors and the relationship between eating disorders and 
alexithymia. They considered as interesting findings of this study a definite correlation between the 
presence of alexithymic features and evaluation of the general state of health: the alexithymics rated 
their health as moderate or fairly poor (Karukivi et al., 2010, p.233). 
 While the link between alexithymia and eating disorders finds many evidences, the 
mechanisms of their interaction have not been studied enough. Some scientists believe that “emotion-
processing deficits induce intense, often uncontrolled, affective reactions” and pathological eating 
behaviors could “represent a way of discharging negative affects” (Budlowski et al., 2005, p. 326). 
Interesting conclusions were made by a group of scientists from the Institute of Psychiatry of “G. 
d’Annunzio” University Chieti-Pescara, Italy, in collaboration with Domenico De Berardis4 in their 
article “Alexithymia and its relationships with dissociative experiences, body dissatisfaction and 
eating disturbances in a non-clinical female sample.” The results of their study not only confirmed 
that the presence of alexithymia personality traits potentially increases the possibility of eating 
disorder development, but also allowed them to identify their causal relationship. They indicate that 
“misinterpretation of perceptual and behavioral aspects of body image,” due to alexithymic features, 
can cause the formation of a “vicious circle” of dissatisfaction body and low self-esteem, which 
ultimately increases the risk of developing eating disorders (De Berardis et al, 2009, p. 476). 
 Although the list of factors provoking abnormal eating behavior3 is not just limited to 
alexithymia, a lack of inner emotional awareness may exacerbate the problem and complicate 
recovery. However, this condition of emotional blindness can be corrected, and nowadays, there are 
many methods for this, starting from the classic psychotherapeutic techniques such as group therapy, 
skill-based therapy, and relaxation techniques, and ending with a simple daily journaling and even 
2
ESSAI, Vol. 15 [2017], Art. 8
https://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol15/iss1/8
3 
reading “emotional” books. So, maybe, romance novels are not as useless as they seem to be … 
 
 
  
 
Notes 
 
1. The term “alexithymia" was invented by psychotherapist Peter Sifneos in 1973. 
2. For more information on this topic, please see www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders. 
3. For more information on this topic, please see Polivy, J. & Herman, C. P. (2002).  Causes of eating 
disorders.  Annual Review of Psychology. 53(1), 187-213. Retrieved from http://www. 
web.b.ebscohost.com 
4. For more information about Domenico De Berardis, please see 
www.publicationslist.org/domenico.deberardis 
 
 
  
 
References 
 
Arcelus, J., Mitchell, A. J., Wales, J., & Nielson, S. (2011). Mortality rates in patients with anorexia 
nervosa and other eating disorders. A meta-analysis of 36 studies. Archives of General 
Psychiatry 68(7), 724-731. doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.74 
Budlowsky S., Corcos, M., Jeammet, P., Paterniti, S., Berthoz, S., Laurier, C., Chambry, J., & 
Consoli, S. (2005). Emotion-processing deficits in eating disorders. The International 
Journal of Eating Disorders 37(4), 321-329. doi: 10.1002/eat.20132 
Carano, A., De Berardis, D., Gambi, F., Di Paolo, C., Campanella, D., Pelusi, L., Sepede G., 
Mancini, E., La Rovere, R., Salini, G., Cotellessa, C., Salerno, R.M., & Ferro, F.M. (2006). 
Alexithymia and body image in adult outpatients with binge eating disorder. International 
Journal of Eating Disorders, 39(4), 332-340. doi: 10.1102/eat.20238 
De Berardis, D., Serroni, N., Campanella, D., Carano, A., Gambi, F., Valchera, A.,… Ferro, F. M. 
(2009). Alexithymia and its relationships with dissociative experiences, body dissatisfaction 
and eating disturbances in a non-clinical female sample. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 
33(5), 471-479. doi: 10.1007/s10608-009-9247-9 
Karukivi, M., Hautala, L., Korpelainen, J., Haapasalo-Pesu, K. M., Liuksila, P. R., Joukamaa, M., 
Saarijarvi, S. (2010). Alexithymia and eating disorder symptoms in adolescents. Eating 
Disorders, 18(3), 226-238. doi: 10.1080/10640261003719518 
Kessler, H., Schwarze, M., Filipic, S., Traue, H., & von Wietersheim, J. (2006). Alexithymia and 
facial emotion recognition in patients with eating disorders. International Journal of Eating 
Disorders, 39(3), 245-251. doi: 10.1002/eat.20228 
The National Institute of Mental Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 
(2016). Statistics: eating disorders among adults. Available from 
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/index.shtml  
 
 
3
Avercheva: Alexithymia and Eating Disorders
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Alexithymia and Eating Disorders

Morris, Thomas

Implicit Bias and the School to Prison Pipeline

Zielinski, Florence M.

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 39 | Number 2 Article 29
Spring 5-1-2017
APPLE BLOSSOMS REMIND ME OF MY
MOTHER
Florence M. Zielinski
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact koteles@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Zielinski, Florence M. (2017) "APPLE BLOSSOMS REMIND ME OF MY MOTHER," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 39 : No. 2 ,
Article 29.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol39/iss2/29
APPLE BLOSSOMS REMIND ME OF MY MOTHER 
  
Her wistful eyes transported her 
to a distant, foreign shore. 
Spring followed spring, dreams followed dreams, and she 
yearned to see her father's orchard, 
"If only, just once more.” 
  
It is Spring again. 
My neighbor's tree is heavy with apple-blossom bloom. 
It reminds me of my Mother, as I see it from my room. 
Those white blossoms...like she saw them, way back when.... 
It was May and Mother's Day, the month she passed away. 
A month most difficult for me to visit 
where she lay in her final resting place. 
I said, "I will go and visit soon...I will go the very next day.” 
  
What I saw arriving there just took my breath away! 
Never before had I this beauty shared. 
Soft petals falling all around, 
kissing the tombstones and the ground! 
The trees were always green in the summer, 
and in the winter the trees were bare. 
But like her father's yearned-for orchard of long ago 
Here was a feast for the eyes, a lift for the soul. 
My God, I thought, 
Amidst these blossoms she cannot be alone! 
Her wish had come true. 
My Mother had gone home. 
Florence M. Zielinski
30    Prairie Light Review 1
Zielinski: APPLE BLOSSOMS REMIND ME OF MY MOTHER
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2016


APPLE BLOSSOMS REMIND ME OF MY MOTHER

McNichols, Matt

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 39 | Number 2 Article 51
Spring 5-1-2017
Biblical Lives Reimagined
Matt McNichols
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact koteles@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
McNichols, Matt (2017) "Biblical Lives Reimagined," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 39 : No. 2 , Article 51.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol39/iss2/51
Biblical Lives Reimagined 
  
Born within the swirling, high-flying thoughts and super-charged 
ideas 
Of my first severe bipolar manic psychosis circa 2000 
Once foreign and unrecognized conceptual frameworks 
Took hold and became a prominent fixture 
Throughout my chaotic, windswept mindscape 
  
The philosophic notion that everything and everyone is universally 
connected 
The Buddhist traditions of reincarnation and past lives 
Mysteriously, without provocation, found themselves 
Firmly entrenched within my mind and its lofty thoughts 
  
Gradually developing strident suspicions 
That “I” once lived and perhaps was a featured figure 
During the era of the New Testament 
This Biblical reincarnation contemplation 
At first alluring, magical, and spiritually uplifting 
Yet inevitably gravitating towards pain and profound confusion 
  
Imploring Jesus for help and guidance in one moment 
Believing I am, in fact, the Second Coming of Christ the next 
Overcome with blasphemous guilt and shame 
I swiftly ventured into other, perhaps more palatable and plausible 
Past lives my soul may once have inhabited 
Saint John, Saint Matthew, Saint Joseph, Lazarus 
All came under my mind’s inquisitive scrutiny 
  
An obsession now cemented 
To uncover and solve 
This mysterious case of spiritual identity
Matt McNichols
Spring 2017    49 1
McNichols: Biblical Lives Reimagined
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2016


Biblical Lives Reimagined

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 39 | Number 2 Article 65
Spring 5-1-2017
gratitude
Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Back Matter is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion
in The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact koteles@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
(2017) "gratitude," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 39 : No. 2 , Article 65.
Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol39/iss2/65
colophon
gratitude
We are grateful for programming support from Dr. Ann Rondeau, Dr.  Donna 
Stewart, Barb Groves, Dean Chuck Boone, Cathie Walker, and Dr. Mark Collins. 
We applaud the constant nudging from faculty who encourage their students to 
submit work, and we offer gratitude to the teaching staff who help students revise 
and perfect their creative submissions. Thanks to Chuck Steele and the Office of 
Student Life for their constant publicity and support. Also, thanks to Tim Wayman 
and Bailey Kovac for their knowledge, patience, and printing service at Alpha-
graphics in Lisle.
Twice a year for publication in the December and May issues, all students, faculty, 
staff, and the College of DuPage District 502 community are invited to submit up 
to four creative works per entrant of original fiction; nonfiction; essays; poetry; 
graphic essays; black and white and color photography; and 2D and 3D artwork 
of any medium. A class of student editors who are enrolled in English 2210 reads 
blind entries before making final selections through a numerical voting system. 
The class is guided by a faculty advisor, who additionally leads the hiring process 
for the officer positions of Editor-In-Chief, Production Editor, and Marketing 
Editor. Over the course of the semester the Editor-In-Chief leads the team and 
supervises all operations, including assisting Marketing Editors as they work to 
advertise upcoming deadlines and events and oversee PLR correspondence, and 
assisting the Production Editor as they put together the magazine. Final edits are 
approved by the editorial staff before the finished product is sent the printers near 
the end of the semester.
Cover: 80# matte paperstock
Design: Adobe InDesign CS6 with Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Adobe Illustrator 
CS6 to edit and design layouts on a Mac OSX computer and ASUS laptop
Finance and Operation: This publication is funded through the College of DuPage’s 
Student Life
Publishing: Alphagraphics of Lisle/Naperville
Paperstock: 70# matte paperstock
Photography: All photography in this magazine is provided by the residents of 
District 502
Typography: Minion Pro, Georgia, Papyrus, and Lucida Handwriting in varying 
formats and sizes
64    Prairie Light Review 1
et al.: gratitude
Published by DigitalCommons@COD, 2016


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