Hail the Traveler
July 28, 2014 11:31 AM Subscribe
Margot Adler, most widely known as a journalist and New York correspondent for NPR, passed away this morning at 10:30 am at the age of 68 from complications related to endometrial cancer, according to a Facebook post from her son Alex. In addition to being a successful journalist and correspondent, Adler was a Wiccan priestess and a member of the board of advisers of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans. Adler is well known in the pagan community in America for her seminal 1979 book Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America.
Obituary.
Obituary.
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Especially sad for her son, who has now lost both parents to cancer in such a short life.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:35 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Especially sad for her son, who has now lost both parents to cancer in such a short life.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:35 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by Lyn Never at 11:36 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 11:36 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Her work was some of the most illuminating I've read, and changed my life.
posted by musofire at 11:37 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by musofire at 11:37 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by dlugoczaj at 11:39 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by dlugoczaj at 11:39 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Agreed, roomthreeseventeen. Alex is 23, and his father passed away in 2010.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 11:39 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 11:39 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 11:39 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 11:39 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by dismas at 11:41 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by dismas at 11:41 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by alms at 11:42 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by alms at 11:42 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
)O(
To my knowledge, 'Drawing down the moon' is as famous among the pagan community in the Netherlands as it is in the US. She will be missed.
posted by rjs at 11:45 AM on July 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
To my knowledge, 'Drawing down the moon' is as famous among the pagan community in the Netherlands as it is in the US. She will be missed.
posted by rjs at 11:45 AM on July 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
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posted by khaibit at 11:46 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by khaibit at 11:46 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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I read Drawing Down the Moon when I was 12 or 13, and I wrote her a letter - she was kind enough to write me back.
I heard her on NPR, but never realized it was the same person - I wondered, though.
posted by needlegrrl at 11:48 AM on July 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
I read Drawing Down the Moon when I was 12 or 13, and I wrote her a letter - she was kind enough to write me back.
I heard her on NPR, but never realized it was the same person - I wondered, though.
posted by needlegrrl at 11:48 AM on July 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
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posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:50 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 11:50 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
i also found drawing down the moon around 13 or 14. it blew my tiny mormon arkansas mind.
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posted by nadawi at 11:51 AM on July 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
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posted by nadawi at 11:51 AM on July 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
Huh... I knew of "Drawing Down the Moon," but had never made the connection with her NPR work.
posted by Jahaza at 11:53 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Jahaza at 11:53 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by Foosnark at 11:55 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Foosnark at 11:55 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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I would write RIP . . . but I think wishing her safe travels onward is a more appropriate sentiment in this case.
Drawing Down the Moon was a life-changing book for me.
posted by Annabelle74 at 11:59 AM on July 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
I would write RIP . . . but I think wishing her safe travels onward is a more appropriate sentiment in this case.
Drawing Down the Moon was a life-changing book for me.
posted by Annabelle74 at 11:59 AM on July 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
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posted by angrycat at 12:05 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by angrycat at 12:05 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by rtha at 12:06 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by rtha at 12:06 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by Cash4Lead at 12:09 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Cash4Lead at 12:09 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by suelac at 12:11 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by suelac at 12:11 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Very sad. A wonderful spirit and a great journalist. I always got a lot out of her stories on NPR. Safe travels to her next stop in the universe.
posted by blucevalo at 12:11 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by blucevalo at 12:11 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by djeo at 12:23 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by djeo at 12:23 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
I had to buy three copies of Drawing Down the Moon over the years. I'm happy to loan books to friends and family, but that was one of the few that had a habit of not coming back.
posted by maurice at 12:30 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by maurice at 12:30 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by saulgoodman at 12:31 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by saulgoodman at 12:31 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
A very nice lady as well as a fine journalist. So very sad.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 12:40 PM on July 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Linda_Holmes at 12:40 PM on July 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
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posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:44 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:44 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
I knew of "Drawing Down the Moon," but had never made the connection with her NPR work.
That was true for me as well.
NPR is largely background noise when I drive, so for me to have noticed her name and voice meant she really stood out. This is sad news.
posted by Dip Flash at 12:51 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
That was true for me as well.
NPR is largely background noise when I drive, so for me to have noticed her name and voice meant she really stood out. This is sad news.
posted by Dip Flash at 12:51 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Never made the connection either.
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posted by Halloween Jack at 1:05 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by Halloween Jack at 1:05 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by Duffington at 1:11 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Duffington at 1:11 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Her grandfather, Alfred Adler, was a noted Austrian Jewish psychotherapist, collaborator with Sigmund Freud and the founder of the school of individual psychology
Wow, never knew this.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 1:24 PM on July 28, 2014 [5 favorites]
Wow, never knew this.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 1:24 PM on July 28, 2014 [5 favorites]
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posted by blurker at 1:49 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by blurker at 1:49 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's a fun year for pagans :(
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:38 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:38 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by bitslayer at 2:49 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by bitslayer at 2:49 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by humanfont at 3:02 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by humanfont at 3:02 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
She also wrote a memoir, Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and Revolution, which includes more on her working-class forebears, her involvement in Berkeley and Mississippi human rights, her embrace of paganism, as well as working at NPR. First chapter served here by the NYTimes.
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posted by Jesse the K at 5:03 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by Jesse the K at 5:03 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by Ink-stained wretch at 9:11 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Ink-stained wretch at 9:11 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Count me as someone else who never made the connection (and also found the book mind-blowing when she was 15 or so).
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posted by TwoStride at 9:28 PM on July 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
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posted by TwoStride at 9:28 PM on July 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
)O(
How appropriate. I wish I'd thought of that.
Count me in as another who read DDTM when i was ~14/15. Eye-opening, to say the least. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with her NPR work what with being on the wrong side of the border, but one hopes there are archives.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 8:38 AM on July 29, 2014
How appropriate. I wish I'd thought of that.
Count me in as another who read DDTM when i was ~14/15. Eye-opening, to say the least. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with her NPR work what with being on the wrong side of the border, but one hopes there are archives.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 8:38 AM on July 29, 2014
One of my favorite reporters and author of one of my favorite book-length reports from the fringes (where the center of our hearts are so often found). Profound condolences to her family and friends.
posted by cleroy at 7:32 PM on July 29, 2014
posted by cleroy at 7:32 PM on July 29, 2014
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