A week from today, I am flying to Detroit and taking a shuttle over to East Lansing, Michigan, where I will deliver a lecture to students at Michigan State University the following day. That’s right, the book project I’ve been promoting for the past six months is now underway, the first class meeting tomorrow, on January 15. On Wednesday, January 22, I will present “PANS: Our Family’s Story” to a classroom of college students to share my experience as Isaac’s mom, and hopefully, inspire future journalists and other professionals to spread the word about PANS/PANDAS even beyond the bounds of this course.

On a personal note, I am deeply grateful to Susan Stitt, Director of Marketing at Front Edge Publishing, for sending me these amazing MSU gloves in time for my trip next week. It’s been 16 years since I lived in Chicago, and truth be told I no longer have the right gear for next Tuesday’s 1 degree forecast! These will be a life saver!

(Also, how perfect that MSU’s color just happens to match the color for PANS/PANDAS Awareness? Go Green!)

I spent much of the fall making connections across the PANS/PANDAS community, gathering support for the PANS/PANDAS Book Project and working with co-founder of Front Edge Publishing, David Crumm, and Professor of Journalism, Joe Grimm, to imagine the Spring 2025 course that begins tomorrow at MSU. With help from several nonprofit organizations and many of my readers (Thank you!), we have raised the funds necessary to begin. Over the next few months, students will hear lectures from a variety of experts and conduct interviews with upwards of 50 parents, teachers, physicians and other professionals whose lives and/or work have been impacted by PANS/PANDAS.

Based on these interviews, MSU students will write 100 Questions and Answers About PANS/PANDAS, offering readers a clear and accessible introduction to this complex disorder. The guide will direct readers to further resources from our partner organizations, including Aspire, EXPAND, Look. Foundation, Northwest PANDAS/PANS Network (NWPPN), PANDAS Network, and The Alex Manfull Fund. Publication is expected in fall/winter 2025.

For more information and to stay up-to-date on developments in the production of the book, please subscribe to the book project page on my website: https://graycoloredglasses.com/pans-pandas-book-project/.