The cost of addiction: New novel draws on Valley backdrop to explore how substance use upends people’s lives

04-16-2025 8:08 PM

Several years ago, Mattea Kramer, an Amherst writer and researcher who’s studied and written about the federal budget as well as drug policies at state and federal levels, spent time interviewing a number of women in the Greenfield jail who were part of a recovery program for substance use.


Valley Bounty: And on that farm she had a bit of everything: Little Brook Farm in Sunderland is a labor of love for farmer Kristen Whittle

04-16-2025 8:09 PM

Spring is here, and with it are signs of new life on farms around the Valley. Leaves are beginning to bud on fruit trees, farmers are preparing soil for the coming growing season, and at Little Brook Farm in Sunderland, day-old baby lambs are bounding around the lambing barn.


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Sports

Opinion


Guest columnist U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey: Fighting for our farmers
04-16-2025 7:57 PM

Western Massachusetts farmers are used to facing and overcoming challenges — from late frosts and damaging storms to droughts and soil erosion, and more. What they’re not accustomed to is the president of the United States standing in their way of earning a living and bolstering our local economies.

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Arts & Life


Let’s Talk Relationships: Uncovering the roots of negative self-talk: What you say to yourself echoes in your relationships
04-16-2025 8:08 PM

Our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves greatly impact how we feel and act in our close relationships. Humans are the only species that engage in “self-talk.” Many of us find ourselves having both positive thoughts about ourselves (for example, “I feel proud for what I just accomplished”) and other times negative and self-defeating thoughts (such as, “I am not attractive enough”). In my work with couples, it is often the derogatory self-talk that each individual engages in that contributes to the difficult and painful dynamics between partners.

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