Table of contents for November 2022 in Reader's Digest

I'VE BEEN A pug guy all my life and never expected that to change. They're short, stocky, stubborn dogs full of attitude and, in my experience, borderline untrainable. I've had three in my life, including our current pug, Olive, who is the most stubborn and sassy of them all. I love her for it. My life as a pug person changed a few months ago when we adopted a Boston terrier from Border Tails Rescue outside of Chicago. This was all new to me. I've never had any dog other than a pug. I've never adopted a rescue or an adult dog. The veterinarian guessed her to be between 3 and 5 years old. She was skinny and nervous and, from what we could tell, had never seen stairs or…

IT WAS 11 p.m. when Alex Conrad saw the woman on the Main Street Bridge. She was standing by the railing, peering down at the rushing Chippewa River below. At her feet was what appeared to be a backpack. Maybe she's fishing, Conrad, then 20, thought as he continued driving his Mustang to his home a short distance away. His friend's car had broken down, so Conrad was making a quick pit stop to grab some tools before heading out to help. Tools in hand, he climbed into his car. Instead of taking a shortcut, though, he opted to head back over the bridge. Something about that woman didn't sit right. Why would she be fishing this late at night—in May, when it's still cold in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin? As…

An elderly friend of mine, a staunch Baptist, told me that when she visited Las Vegas with her family, she was persuaded to try the slot machines. I asked if she said a quick prayer before playing. “Oh no,” she said. “I figured when I walked through that door, I was on my own.” —CAPERS CROSS Mount Pleasant, SC It was the first time my 5-year-old had been to church, and she was very excited. After what must have felt like an eternity to her waiting for the service to begin, she whispered in my ear, “When does God come on?” —CONNIE PINELLA Lakewood, CA I had just purchased a painting of the Last Supper when my young grandson came home. He studied it fora few minutes, then asked, “What…

DURING THE SUMMER of 2021, Beverly Wax had an experience that filled her with awe. It wasn't a sunset, a sweeping mountain vista or the sound of waves gently lapping on a beach that got to her. It was the sight of her son, Justin, lugging an 80-pound portable air conditioner up three flights of stairs to her Boston-area condo. Wax's central air conditioning had conked out the day before—in the middle of a 90-plus-degree heat wave. She'd mentioned to her son that she was having trouble finding someone to come fix it quickly. He'd shown up with the new unit as a surprise. As she watched him sweat and struggle while hauling the unit up the stairs and installing it in her bedroom, Wax says she felt a wave…

FROM THE BOOK REVERSE DIABETES THERE'S ONE WORD medical researchers rarely utter about diabetes: cure. Yet that's exactly the word researchers from the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT) recently used to describe the outlook for people with type 2 diabetes. This ongoing study of hundreds of people with diabetes has revealed that a powerful cocktail of lifestyle approaches can help drive diabetes into remission, meaning blood sugar remains in the healthy range without medication. The recommended lifestyle changes probably aren't nearly as drastic as you're thinking. But the results will be. Here are some areas to target: Food: Smarter Carbs and Fat, More Protein and Veggies The old thinking about diabetes and diet could be summed up in two words: Avoid sugar. While it's still smart to eat less of…

I'm teaching my kids to read to help them succeed in school. I'm teaching my kids to read because it's quality time spent together. But most of all I'm teaching my kids to read so they won't ask “What does XJ49PB2 spell?” every time we pass another car on the road. @HENPECKEDHAL Democracy is like a tambourine—not everyone can be trusted with it. —JOHN OLIVER, on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver The closest I've ever come to winning the lottery is finding a rogue onion ring in my fries. @PRUFROCKLUVSONG A Parisian, a Londoner and a New Yorker are captured by cannibals and told that they're to be eaten and their skins used to build a canoe. “But,” says the chief, “you get to choose how you…

EVERYONE WANTED A PIECE of the dog that got a piece of the shark. “I got emails from people in Russia. One guy offered me a hundred euros. Another guy found me at work and offered me $575 'cash right now.' I said, 'Keep walking, buddy,' ” James White says of the offers he got for his dog, Darby. “It got to the point where I started saying, 'No, no, no, that's not me.'” When White, a 43-year-old security agent from Rohnert Park, California, snagged the pit bull puppy in 2018, Darby was just another four-legged lug: young, friendly, playful, strong as an ox. Then, in the summer of 2019, came Darby's date with destiny. White was fishing in Northern California's Bodega Bay. He left Darby, then a year old…

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST MILO IS A RESCUE DOG, adopted by 20-year-old Makayla Swift. But the beagle is also a rescuer. One morning in November 2021, Swift opened her front door in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Milo took off running. Milo ran to the house across the street. He seemed unsatisfied with this house, so he ran to the one next door, Swift on his tail. “He started scratching on the front door,” Swift says. “I'm thinking, 'Why is he literally trying to break into her house?'” She was embarrassed. Not everyone wants a strange dog on their property. But as she tried to drag Milo away, she could hear a sound coming through an open upstairs window. It was a voice yelling “Help!” Hours earlier, around 4 a.m., Sherry…

I used to work the graveyard shift at a hotel, and a stray cat would wander into the lobby, watch TV and spend the night with me. Eventually, I took her home and named her Hobbit. While I was sleeping after a night shift, Hobbit yowled and nipped at me until I woke up. I smelled smoke. Firefighters pulling smoldering furniture from a downstairs apartment told me I didn't need to evacuate; the fire was contained. But Hobbit wouldn't settle down until the smoke cleared. From then on, I slept easy, knowing I had a friend on permanent safety patrol. still intact.…

TV Amy Wheeler (Zoe Saldana) is a classic rom-com hero. A nononsense law student studying art in Europe before returning to school, she falls for Italian chef Lino (Eugenio Mastrandrea)—but this story, based on Tembi Locke's bestselling memoir, is no fairytale. Lino'sfamily disapproves of both their marriage and Amy's big family of proud Texans. Real life sets in and Lino receives a rare diagnosis that prompts both families to work together to build a support system for Amy, Lino and their daughter—you guessed it—from scratch. (Streaming on Netflix Oct.21) —Caroline Fanning…

WHERE, OH WHERE? (page 46) D. Door County, Wisconsin BRAIN GAMES (pages 103-104) Quick Crossword ACROSS 4. CONOY 5. YAMASEE 7. PENNACOOK 8. SHAWNEE 9. POWHATAN DOWN 1. HATTERAS 2. WAMPANOAG 3. IROQUOIS 4. CREEK 6. MOHEGAN A Grateful Gathering Kevin is thankful for his job; Danielle is thankful for their home; Emma is thankful for their family; Nina is thankful for their dog; Henry is thankful for the meal; and Sophie is thankful for her health. Black and White Maze Times Square Reader's Digest (ISSN 0034-0375) (USPS 865-820), (CPM Agreement# 40031457), Vol. 200, No. 1184, November 2022. © 2022. Published monthly, except bimonthly in March/April,July/ August and December/January (subject to change without notice), by Trusted Media Brands, Inc., 44 South Broadway, White Plains, New York 10601. Periodicals postage paid…

The Great 9/11 Maritime Rescue I was overjoyed at the article about civilian boats that evacuated New Yorkers on 9/11 (September). I'm always shocked that most are unaware of it. Even when I visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum, I couldn't find mention. Thanks for highlighting the heroism of these wonderful people. —BRUCELLE WILLIAMSON Lakewood, CA My Favorite Word The list of readers' favorite words (September) brought tears as I remembered mine. My grandmother had a stroke, and “show” was all she could say. Show meant “love you, Lori.” It meant “I'm feeling OK or sad or lonely.” We had whole conversations and could still understand each other with just one precious word. —LORI SCIAME Maricopa, AZ My Southern Accent, Lost and Found As Becca Andrews confirms (September), a voice is…

NAPS DON'T JUST feel amazing—they are amazing. A study published in the journal Heart found a link between healthy napping and a lowered risk of heart disease. The American Psychological Association points out that naps can improve memory, learning capacity, immune system function and mood. Sara Mednick, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine, and author of The Power of the Downstate, explains that when you fall asleep, your body moves through stages that each play a role in health. Stage 1: the “dozing off” period Stage 2: muscles, heart rate and brain activity slow down Stage 3: deep, restorative sleep Stage 4: REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, when brain activity increases and you're most likely to dream Ideal napping times are based around this four-stage cycle.…

✦Although she hardly ever leaves the house, one other high-heeled shoes is always missing. ✦ The one sustainable, non-polyester item in her wardrobe is a sweater Grandma knitted. ✦Every time youngsters manipulate her into doing some exercise, her joints make this weird clicking sound. ✦ Her so-called Dream House still has some structural issues. ✦ “The Robot” is her signature dance move. In fact, it's her only dance move. ✦ Her camping equipment has been used once since it came out of the box and did not live up to any of the publicity material. ✦ Her husband was last seen gathering dust in the garage.…

One morning, my daughter's fiancé, Jeremy, grabbed breakfast from the freezer. Soon after, our dog, Sally, came to his side, whimpering and pacing until he followed her to the kitchen. She pawed and yelped at the freezer door—but she wasn't begging for food. Jeremy opened the freezer door and found our kitten, Punsey, lying cold and limp on the low metal shelf. Punsey must've gotten curious and snuck in while Jeremy's back was turned. Jeremy wrapped Punsey in a thick towel and held him against his chest until he warmed up and began moving. Good thing Sally was looking out for her little buddy.…

JORGE SERRANO AND HIS dog Charlie were strolling through a park in Cornelius, North Carolina, when they heard a commotion near the pond. It was a duck, sounding distress quacks from an overflow drain in the center of the water. Across the street, about 150 feet away, a small crowd had gathered at the drain's exit. Five ducklings had swum too close and had been sucked in by the drain's current. You could hear their frantic peeps from the pipe's mouth. The pipe was less than 2 feet in diameter. Serrano would never fit. But Charlie … “He'll do anything you ask him to do,” says Serrano. “He'll deliver newspapers when he walks by somebody's house. Or he'll carry flowers to somebody if you ask him to do it.” Charlie…

JOEY ISN'T YOUR TYPICAL GUARD PET. He's not a hulking German shepherd or brawny Doberman pinscher. He's a squirrel, a rodent. But he's certainly no pest—unless you try to break into his house. Then he's a world of trouble. Adam Pearl found a baby squirrel orphaned in his yard in Meridian, Idaho. He decided to take him in and named him Joey. Pearl set an alarm to bottle-feed Joey every two hours. Joey learned to use a litter box and graduated to a diet of nuts and greens. In just a few months, he became a fixture in the house. “He'd let anybody pet him,” says Pearl. “Right up until the kid broke in.” That was the day Pearl came home to obvious signs of a robbery. Strange, snowy footprints…

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES FOR THE FIRST year of our relationship, I didn't know his name and didn't welcome his interruptions. I felt hassled by the unexpected knock on my window, which was necessary to get my attention because my apartment lacked a doorbell. Despite my annoyance, I secretly named him Kris, as in Kringle, because he was a kind of modern-day Santa Claus. With his white hair and grandfatherly vibe, he brought me presents and tried to spread cheer—except his uniform was UPS brown, not Santa Claus red, and I had ordered and paid for the presents myself. Our relationship started when I moved into a small ground-floor apartment north of Boston. On the rare days I was home, the UPS man, seeing my car in the driveway,…

BOOKS “What do you do after you've written The Road?” asks Jenny Jackson, Cormac McCarthy's editor at Alfred A. Knopf. “The answer is two books that take on God and existence.” The Pulitzer Prize winner returns with new novels, siblings like their protagonists, Bobby and Alicia Western. The Passenger, a winding 400-page saga, follows Bobby, a math genius and son of one of the creators of the atom bomb, who works as a salvage diver in 1980 while wrestling with a loss he can't process. Bobby finds plane wreckage off the Mississippi coast, but it's what he doesn't find that puts him in danger. Stella Maris, a prequel set in 1972, further introduces Alicia, a doctoral candidate in mathematics even more brilliant and tortured than her brother. Alicia's intelligence has…

1. avatar n. ('a-vuh-tar) A dating app B pop-up blocker C profile image 2. embed v. (em-'bed) A fix a bug B insert into a document C download to a laptop 3. beta adj. ('bay-tuh) A undergoing testing B via Bluetooth C on a desktop 4. firewall n. ('fyr-wahl) A Wi-Fi hot spot B network protector C comments section 5. dox v. (doks) A go viral B join remotely C leak personal info 6. cache n. (kash) A video plug-in B digital currency C temporary memory 7. toggle v. ('tah-guhl) A troubleshoot B switch between options C charge wirelessly 8. Luddite n. ('luh-dite) A technophobe B operating system C supercomputer 9. pixel n. ('pik-sul) A dot in an image B spam text C screenshot 10. back-end adj. ('bak-end) A behind a paywall B invisible to the user C outdated 11. meme n. (meem) A personal blog B humorous graphic C notification bell 12. troll n. (trohl) A professional hacker B hardware defect C online bully 13.…

WHEN NEW YORK State's Ulster County invited local students to submit designs for an I Voted sticker for November's general election, it received a slew of excellent submissions, including a proud eagle and a woman holding an I Voted sign. But one stood out. Hudson Rowan's entry can best be described as half spider/half highly caffeinated American. It won, and Rowan, 14, told the New York Times he knows why: “The creature that I drew resembles the craziness of politics and the world right now.”…

My kids found a stray cat in our yard and spent some time trying to get to know it. My 6-year-old daughter asked how to tell if it was a boy or a girl. “Well,” I said, “what does your brother have that you don't have?” Her precocious 4-year-old brother knew: “A bunk bed!” —KACY GILPIN Williamsburg, VA St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands, is famous for stunning and affordable jewelry. A day before our cruise ship approached the port, a fellow passenger asked the cruise director what time the jewelry stores open. We had plenty of time, he assured her. “They open as soon as they hear our anchor go splash.” —MARK ROBERTS Leonia, NJ It happened to me: I started watching a teen show and became more invested…

1 ENTERTAINING Advice to Thanksgiving Guests Just because you're not a good cook doesn't mean you can't contribute to the holiday spread. Rather than showing up with something store-bought (or empty-handed), think practical. There are never enough serving spoons at holiday potlucks. Or bring some paper towels or a bunch of containers for thankful guests to take home leftovers. The Pilgrims would've if they'd only known about reusable dishware. SOURCE: TASTEOFHOME.COM 2 MONEY Dodge a High Annual Fee Reaping your fanciest credit card's rewards isn't a certainty—but that hefty annual fee sure is. If you haven't taken advantage or if it's not in the budget anymore, downgrade to a card with a lower (or no) annual fee under the same issuer. It won't damage your credit the way canceling would, and…

“DO YOU WANT fries with that?” For the average American, who eats 29 pounds of fries each year, the response to this irresistible inquiry is a resounding yes. McDonald's alone sells 9 million pounds of fries globally every day. To keep up, its U.S. supplier uses a massive fry-cutting machine that shoots potatoes through at 60 to 70 miles per hour, 24 hours a day. It's hotly debated whether fries first came from France or Belgium, but it was American soldiers during World War I who dubbed them “French.” The soldiers became smitten with the spuds in southern Belgium—where villagers fried sliced potatoes instead of fish when the River Meuse froze over—but called them French since that was the predominant language spoken. The name stuck. Long before the First World…

Sometimes when we go on vacation, we remember to pack everything but our good sense. Here area few questionable questions tour guides at vacation hot spots have had to field. ✦ Does the sun set every night? ✦ Are the Amish in season? ✦ When do they turn off the waterfalls? ✦ How many miles of undiscovered caves are there? ✦ Why is the Closed for Cleaning sign on the restroom? ✦ How come all of the war's battles were fought in national parks? ✦ Why don't you have better marking in the places where trails do not exist? ✦ Is that the same moon we see in Vermont? ✦ If it rains, will the fireworks be held inside? ✦ What is the altitude? (on a boat passing through the…

RUN OFF CANCER RISK Exercise has been known to reduce the risk of developing many forms of cancer. Now, a British study has identified one reason why Physical activity, it turns out, causes a cancer-fighting protein called interleukin-6 (IL-6) to be released into the bloodstream, where it can repair cells and slow tumor growth. Study participants at higher risk of colon cancer had larger amounts of IL-6 in their blood after cycling for 30 minutes than they did while resting. The conclusion: Regular exercise—such as walking, cycling or playing sports—can lower colon-cancer risk by about 20%, a finding researchers believe applies to other cancers as well. Why We Need More Female Cardiologists According to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, women with heart disease ended…

Our bichon frisés, Candy and Curly, are both rescues. We got Curly first, and he taught Candy everything: how to walk on grass, use the doggy door, interact with humans. One stormy morning, I put Curly in his ThunderShirt and then went to work. Candy bothered my husband until he came to the next room. Curly was stuck to the floor—with the Velcro from his ThunderShirt attached to the carpet! We still laugh about what Curly must've thought as his loving mom stepped over him. And little hero girl Candy was so excited to do something for Curly.…

I have multiple sclerosis and use a wheelchair. One day, I fell into the pool, wheelchair and all. Our dog, Mandy, went berserk, barking and sprinting around the pool edge. She got the attention of my husband and a neighbor, who both rushed out. But by that time, Mandy had already leaped into the pool to try to rescue me herself. —EILEEN HALCZYN Wesley Chapel, FL Let's Agree… “Age is the acceptance of years. But maturity is the glory of years.” MARTHA GRAHAM, DANCER … to Disagree “Age is a high price to pay for maturity.” TOM STOPPARD, PLAYWRIGHT…

Don't waste your purpose worrying about your body. It's your house. It's where you live. There's no point in judging it. —Emma Thompson, ACTOR, ON THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT I try to stay forward-focused. Two of my favorite words are “over” and “next” —Norman Lear, TV PRODUCER, IN THE NEW YORK TIMES There can be no real satisfaction in a life devoted entirely to personal desires. If one is to be consumed by passion, I can think of no more worthy all-consuming passion than the struggle for human rights, greater opportunity and a livable planet. —Mary Frances Berry, ACTIVIST, TO GRADUATES OF CLARK UNIVERSITY Loyalty one way is stupidity. —Derek jeter, BASEBALL LEGEND, IN THE CAPTAIN DOCUSERIES Whenever someone starts disagreeing with me, I listen at first and then…

Break Wishbones; Tickle Funny Bones After giving thanks and gobbling turkey, stir up some smiles with Laughter, the Best Medicine 2022. This sidesplitting collection of our all-time best giggles and gags also serves up some new material suitable for readers from ages 6 to 106! It's the one side dish you can't get full on. And, unlike the rest of your Thanksgiving spread, the leftovers will last forever. As our thanks to you, we'll cover the cost of shipping. To order, visit rd.com/RDNOV.…