A shout-out for the Dear America series

Dear America showed me, with an unshakeable force, what history could be.

The Atlantic magazine newsletter this week is about the impact of personal journals during crucial moments of history.

Reading the Dear America series, which features fictionalized diaries from young girls living through significant moments in American history, the value of this type of writing becomes clear: It models how to live in moments when global anxieties butt up against mundane concerns.