Heartland

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While my husband, Eric, was starting this magazine in the mid-1980s, I was involved in starting an inner-city Waldorf School because I was so inspired by Waldorf's developmental approach to education. Seven years ago, not long after Eric had left the magazine and I began to play an active role, he became a teacher at the school. It would be nice if we could say that the transition was elegantly and consciously planned, but it was entirely unpremeditated. In the process, we have had to fundamentally, continually, and often awkwardly reimagine our relationships to each other and to ourselves.

A few weeks ago my friend Marcela, who is a parent at the school, told me what an extraordinary experience her daughter is having there, how gifted and dedicated the teachers are, and how vibrant and supportive the community is. Neither Eric nor I have any formal connection to the school anymore, and our kids are no longer there, so it gives me great joy to know that what we helped start is thriving.

Marcela's reminder that the things we begin evolve beyond our expectations turned out to be a fortuitous omen: Just a few days later, on June 1, we sold Utne magazine to Ogden Publications, publishers of Mother Earth News, Natural Home, the Herb Companion, Herbs for Health, and several other national consumer publications. While I bemoan the fact that the single-title publishing business model has become a koan-one that I, for one, have been unable to crack-I am deeply grateful that we have found such a compatible ally in Ogden.

I first came to the magazine (prepared for my new role primarily by the fact that as the mother of four boys, I am not easily intimidated) intending to be a temporary steward only until I found a moneyed partner or a buyer to entrust with our name and our mission. During the process of searching, I discovered that I cared passionately about our independence and our ability to speak out-and that I wasn't willing to compromise. So, quite accidentally, I found myself running a national magazine.

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