With all this in mind, the experts we spoke with say we have sufficient data on the drugs to allow people—those who need them for medical use and have been prescribed under the care of a doctor—to feel confident taking them. But we don’t know how the use of the drugs might play out over decades, or what some of the side effects of rapid weight loss will mean in the long run. (There are already some concerns about decreases in muscle mass and bone density.) Despite all their potential, what the new obesity drugs can’t seem to cure is the stigma of obesity. “It’s a myth that obesity is a choice,” says Dr. Stanford. “The reality is that obesity is a disease.” And still, the world judges people with obesity harshly—and people often condemn themselves too. “They think they are failures, and they think they are cheating if they are using a drug to manage their disease,” says Dr. Kansal. “We don’t think about any other medical diagnosis in this way.” Jennifer Blackburn has discovered a new life on Ozempic. She has lost 35 pounds (and kept it off) and gained a new appreciation for her body. She no longer drinks, she is excelling at work, and she has started traveling, booking several walking trips in recent months. “I feel happier, more confident, and I guess the word would be empowered,” says Blackburn. “It’s about so much more than size—it’s like the weight has been lifted off my shoulders.” Health
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Ezra Starring Bobby Cannavale an unforgettable relationship is the heart of this rich family snapshot from screenwriter Tony Spiridakis, who drew from his own experience co-parenting a son on the autism spectrum. Ezra (newcomer William A. Fitzgerald) is the autistic 11-yearold of recently split parents, with a penchant for quoting movies and putting himself in harm’s way. His mother, Jenna (Rose Byrne), wants him on new medication and enrolled in a special needs school, but when his struggling stand-up comic father, Max (Bobby Cannavale), is booked to perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he impetuously takes Ezra with him on a cross-country road trip. Though the destination is Los Angeles, nobody is quite sure where the trip will lead. COURTESY BLEEKER STREET (2). THE NOUN PROJECT (FILM ICON) (In theaters May 31) —Mara Reinstein illustration by Tim Marrs FILM The RD LIST read, watch, listen reader’s digest rd.com | june 2024 101
ANGEL STUDIOS. THE NOUN PROJECT (FILM ICON) Sight Starring Terry Chen and Greg Kinnear A world-renowned eye surgeon has treated the likes of Dolly Parton and Nicole Kidman—but A-listers are far from his most memorable patients. Sight follows the true story of Ming Wang (Terry Chen), whose journey begins during a tumultuous political uprising in 1970s China from which he barely escapes. The tenacious Wang immigrates to the United States, graduates from Harvard Medical School and MIT, and develops an innovative technology that restores the sight of millions of people. As an established laser-eye surgeon, he takes the case of a blind orphan from India and finds himself forced to reconcile with his past. (“There’s more to life than what you see,” says Wang.) Greg Kinnear plays Dr. Wang’s friend and mentor Misha Bartnovsky. (In theaters May 24) —MR 102 june 2024 FILM
PANTHEON BOOKS (GODWIN). DOUBLEDAY (LIES AND WEDDINGS). THE NOUN PROJECT (BOOK ICON) The Backyard Bird Chronicles By Amy Tan The Joy Luck Club author is as enchanting as ever in this collection of journals kept since she began bird-watching in 2016. Amy Tan’s notes and drawings of her avian visitors sharpen as the book and her skills ripen. Getting lost in Tan’s world of chirpy factoids (birds eat grit from the ground to aid digestion, not because they’re starving; store-bought hummingbird nectar is just water, sugar, red dye and a total waste of money) is easy. Reckoning with the knowledge that her unvarnished musings are richer and more poetic than your most polished premeditation is slightly tougher. —CF Godwin By Joseph O’Neill A modern-day odyssey from a master of contemporary fiction, Godwin journeys from Pittsburgh to England to France to Benin in search of the titular teenage African soccer prodigy. The story is told from the seemingly disparate perspectives of Mark Wolfe, a technical writer asked by his dodgy sports agent brother to help find the Messi-like youth from a viral video, and Lakesha Williams, Wolfe’s colleague who must recover his declining professionalism. The book asks many questions, but none more perplexing than how these storylines relate. All are gratifyingly answered as Joseph O’Neill finds the back of the net once more. —Caroline Fanning Lies and Weddings By Kevin Kwan Kevin Kwan returns with more of the bombastic storytelling readers loved in his Crazy Rich Asians. This time, the protagonist is Rufus Leung Gresham, son of a British duke and a Hong Kong supermodel, and constant sidestepper of his mother’s millionaire matchmaking schemes. Gresham’s suitresses include a French hotel heiress, an alluring Chinese billionaire and the literal girl-next-door from childhood as he faces mounting pressure to marry rich and save the family fortune. Bursting with equal parts heart and haute couture, Lies and Weddings slips into a sandy beach bag just as easily as into a Gucci tote. —Leandra Beabout rd.com 103 BOOKS The RD List reader’s digest
QUOTABLE QUOTES The goal is not to have an incredible career. The goal is to have an incredible life. —Ali Wong, comedian, in the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER Old age is a privilege that is denied to a lot of people. I used to think 36 was really old. Then, as soon as I got cancer, I was like, 36 is really young. —Hannah Fry, mathematician, in the GUARDIAN It’s the perfect degree of fame ... I’m a famous writer in a country where nobody reads. —John Grisham, author, in TIME My mouth is faster than my brain. All my life, strange things like that have come out, like the phrase “hard day’s night.” —Ringo Starr, musician, in AARP THE MAGAZINE I don’t pray for results. I just ask that I get the strength to give it my all. —Coco Gauff, tennis player, at the 2023 u.s. open TAYLOR HILL/CONTRIBUTOR/GETTY IMAGES (WONG). ROBERT PRANGE/CONTRIBUTOR/GETTY IMAGES (GAUFF). KEVIN WINTER/STAFF/GETTY IMAGES (STARR) reader’s digest The RD List 104 june 2024 | rd.com
Complete and clip this form, then mail to HDIS at the address below or call toll-free 1-800-403-3046 Payment Options (check one): Check or money order enclosed (Payable to HDIS) Bill my: MasterCard® Visa® Discover® American Express® Signature Mail to: HDIS Trial Offer, 9385 Dielman Ind. Drive, St. Louis, MO 63132 Offer expires 8/31/2024. Good only at HDIS. Not available in Alaska or Hawaii. (No Post Office Boxes, please): Name______________________________________________________________ Street Address ______________________________________________________ City ___________________________________State ______ Zip_____________ Daytime phone _____________________________________________________ E-mail _____________________________________________________________ Card Number Exp. Date ( ) ©2024, HDIS Call Toll-Free 24 hours a day! 1-800-403-3046 Special Introductory Offer of & $ New Customers Only Please choose your case. LIMIT 2: DEPEND® Maximum Underwear for Women Medium (31-37”) 72/case X-Large (45-54”) 60/case DEPEND® Maximum Underwear for Men Large (35-43”) 68/case 2X-Large (55-64”) 44/case POISE® Pads Ultimate Pads 132/case g Maximum Pads 192/case Grand Total Due FREE Shipping! Total # of cases (limit 2) X Tax included where applicable. $49.95
EMILY GOODMAN (FACT OR FICTION). NOUN PROJECT (4) Fact. 3. Fiction; roughly half comes from the ocean. 2. Fact; one theory is that it’s easier to pronounce. Answers: 1. Fiction; that 6. Fiction; the single was released in April 1972. 5. Fact; it’s red, white and blue and features a starburst. 4. Fact; despite the “thou 7. the Earth is round has been common knowledge among the educated since the ninth century. Fact; 9. Fact; do your mowing in the early morning or late evening to avoid getting swarmed. 8. shalt not steal” part. Musketeer. Bonus Question: technically, “berries” are fruits that come from flowers with only one ovary. bonus question Which persona dominated Pablo Picasso’s later work? (Need help? Turn to “Hey Dad, Can You Help Me Return the Picasso I Stole?” on page 82.) 123456789 Fact or Fiction? medium Determine whether each statement is fact or fiction. To reveal the solution to the bonus question at the bottom, write the letters indicated by your responses in the corresponding numbered blanks. Turn the page upside down for the answers. 1. Babies usually say “dada” before they say “mama.” fact: M fiction: C 5. Alice Cooper’s song “School’s Out” came out at the end of June. fact: I fiction: E 3. The nation’s three longest bridges are all in Louisiana. fact: S fiction: N 9. Bananas are berries. fact: R fiction: E 7. The most shoplifted book is the Bible. fact: E fiction: R 4. Juneteenth has its own flag. fact: K fiction:C 8. Cicadas confuse the sound of lawn mowers for mates. fact: E fiction: G 2. The majority of the oxygen we breathe comes from trees. fact: O fiction: U 6. In the Middle Ages, people thought the Earth was flat. fact: E fiction: T reader’s digest 106 june 2024 Brain GAMES Sharpen Your Mind
EMILY GOODMAN (PIECE OF CAKE). KRUGLI/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS (CAKES). FRASER SIMPSON (PLACE YOUR CHIPS) Place Your Chips difficult You have a stack of poker chips that are each worth $5, $10 or $25. Place them on the squares of this grid—no more than one chip per square—so that their value totals the amount of dollars shown for each row, column and long diagonal. Not every square has a chip on it. Several chips and one blank space (designated by a star) have been placed to get you started. Can you finish the grid? Piece of Cake easy Your new bakery business is off to a great start: You already have four cake orders. You’ve been asked to write something in icing atop each, but now you can’t remember which message goes with which cake. Thankfully, you still have some of your notes. From the following clues, can you determine which message to write on each cake? Cakes Message Black Forest “Congrats, Grad!” Carrot “Happy Retirement!” Red velvet “Happy Anniversary!” Seven-layer “Happy Father’s Day!” ) The Black Forest cake is for someone who isn’t married and doesn’t have kids. ) The carrot cake is for someone who celebrates the event on the cake every year. ) Neither the dad nor the grad in question requested a seven-layer cake. ) The person who ordered red velvet requested that the cake be shaped like a heart. 60 65 5 25 5 25 55 40 + 5 10 65 25 95 80 20 50 55 75 rd.com 107 Brain Games · ·
DARREN RIGBY (LAST TO KNOW). EMILY GOODMAN (THIS, NOT THAT). DIGITALVISION VECTORS/GETTY IMAGES (PA JAMAS) This, Not That easy Like most little kids, Amanda and Everett can be very fussy. They like only certain things. Can you figure out why they like what they do from the following clues? ) They like pajamas but not slippers. ) They like seltzer but not soda. ) They like singing but not dancing. ) They like hopscotch but not jump-rope. ) They like hummus but not chickpeas. For answers, turn to page 111. For more Brain Games, go to rd.com/braingames. The Last to Know medium The diagram below represents a social network, and each intersection is a person. The yellow dots are people who all know the same secret. They’ll pass it on, but only to the people who are immediately adjacent to them in the network. It’s a good secret, so they tell everyone they can, then those people pass it on to all the people they’re connected to, and so on. After four rounds of telling new people, everyone knows the secret … except one person. Who is the last to know? reader’s digest 108 june 2024
Brain Games 1. pseudo adj. ('soo-doh) a holy b phony c highbrow 2. gnu n. (noo) a horned frog b African antelope c flightless bird 3. codger n. ('kah-jr) a elderly oddball b handheld radio c boardinghouse 4. limn v. (lim) a beat up b branch out c outline We’re embracing the quiet life in this issue by featuring words with silent letters. Any letter can be mum in English—except V, which is always pronounced. (Who knew?) Do you have the knowledge to wrangle this quiz? No need to keep that hush-hush: Turn to the next page for the answers. 9. knell n. (nel) a bell’s clang b fierce wind c grassy hill 10. rapport n. (ruh-'por) a repetitive sound b French cheese c friendly relationship 11. chthonic adj. ('thah-nik) a of the underworld b on-and-off c bitter-tasting 12. aplomb n. (uh-'plahm) a shock b poise c haste 13. evanesce v. (eh-vuh-'nes) a debate endlessly b divide in half c disappear like vapor 14. mitzvah n. ('mits-vuh) a charitable deed b 13th birthday c ancient curse 15. viscount n. ('vigh-kownt) a arched bridge b British nobleman c poll tax 5. apropos adj. (a-pruh-'poh) a estimated b suitable c stolen 6. wrack v. (rak) a ruin b sob c stretch 7. coxswain n. ('cahk-sn) a tail feather b head sailor c antique pistol 8. aesthetic adj. (uhs-'theh-tik) a severe b numb c attractive BY Sarah Chassé WORD POWER rd.com 109
KAJDI SZABOLCS/GETTY IMAGES Talk like a Townie You know to leave out the s sound in Louisville, along with that c in Tucson. But depending on where you live, you might be flubbing these other locales with silent letters: Mackinac ('ma-kuh-naw) Island, Michigan; Natchitoches ('na-kuh-tuhsh), Louisiana; Schley (sly), North Carolina; and Worcester ('wu-str), Massachusetts. 1. pseudo (b) phony “Instead of listening to pseudo health experts on Instagram, why don’t you ask your doctor?” 2. gnu (b) African antelope Gnus have boxy faces and big horns. 3. codger (a) elderly oddball Milton is a cranky codger who thinks smartphones are just a fad. 4. limn (c) outline In Renaissance paintings, golden halos limn the heads of saints. 5. apropos (b)suitable Nora’s somber black outfit was more apropos for a funeral than a wedding. 6. wrack (a) ruin Wracked by wildfires last Vocabulary Ratings 9 & below: Whisper 10-12: Whistle 13-15: Whoop year, the island of Maui is working to rebuild. 7. coxswain (b) head sailor As a coxswain in the Coast Guard, Ashley is responsible for managing the boat and its crew. 8. aesthetic (c) attractive Kai’s all-white living room is aesthetic, but not exactly practical with his three puppies. 9. knell (a) bell’s clang After the queen died, the knells from the royal church rang for hours. 10. rapport (c) friendly relationship I didn’t like my new boss at first, but we’ve developed a rapport. 11. chthonic (a) of the underworld In Greek mythology, the chthonic watchdog Cerberus guarded the gates of hell. 12. aplomb (b) poise The comedian handled the hecklers with aplomb, seeming to ignore their taunts. 13. evanesce (c) disappear like vapor A rainbow suddenly appeared in the sky, then evanesced into thin air. 14. mitzvah (a) charitable deed Isaac tries to perform a simple mitzvah every week, such as volunteering at a local soup kitchen. 15. viscount (b) British nobleman The TV show Bridgerton follows the romantic entanglements of viscounts, dukes and duchesses. Word Power ANSWERS reader’s digest 110 june 2024
WHERE, OH WHERE? (page 112) A. Wind Point, Wisconsin BRAIN GAMES (pages 107-108) Piece of Cake You should write “Happy Retirement!” on the seven-layer cake, “Congrats, Grad!” on the Black Forest cake, “Happy Father’s Day!” on the carrot cake, and “Happy Anniversary!” on the red velvet cake. Place Your Chips The Last to Know This, Not That They like words with only one kind of vowel. Take a Trip Down Memory Lane When celebrating this magazine’s 100th anniversary a couple of years ago, we editors had a blast poring over our rich archives and reminiscing over our favorite stories. We think you’ll enjoy it too, so we put together The Best of Reader’s Digest Timeless Favorites, a “greatest hits album” of sorts for America’s favorite magazine. Inside are incredible tales of survival, sweet stories about animal companions, and slices of life from decades past. Order your copy for just $10 at rd.com/RDJUN. ANSWERS SPECIAL OFFER Reader’s Digest (ISSN 0034-0375) (USPS 865-820), (CPM Agreement# 40031457), Vol. 203, No. 1198, June 2024. © 2024. Published monthly, except bimonthly in March/April, July/August, and December/January (subject to change without notice), by Trusted Media Brands, Inc., 1610 N. 2nd St., Suite 102, Milwaukee, WI 53212-3906. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Reader’s Digest, PO Box 6095, Harlan, Iowa 51593-1595. Send undeliverable Canadian addresses to [email protected]. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited. Reader’s Digest and The Digest are registered trademarks of Trusted Media Brands, Inc. Marca Registrada. Printed in U.S.A. SUBSCRIBERS: You may cancel your subscription at any time and receive a refund for copies not previously addressed. Your subscription will expire with the issue identified above your name on the address label. If the Post Office alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. A special Reader’s Digest Large Print with selected articles from Reader’s Digest is published by Trusted Media Brands, Inc. For details, write: Reader’s Digest Large Print, PO Box 6097, Harlan, Iowa 51593-1597. CONSUMER INFORMATION:Reader’s Digest may share information about you with third parties for the purpose of offering products and services that may interest you. If you would rather not receive such offers via postal mail, please write to Reader’s Digest Customer Mailing List, PO Box 3123, Harlan, Iowa 51593-0189. You can also visit www. tmbi.com/preference-center to manage your preferences and opt out of receiving such offers via e-mail. Please see our Privacy Policy at www.tmbi.com/privacy-policy. 10 5 5 + 5 10 5 5 25 10 10 + 10 10 10 25 + 5 10 25 25 10 25 10 25 rd.com 111 Brain Games
PHOTO.ECCLES/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO 112 june 2024 | rd.com ahoy! First lit in 1880, this is one of the oldest—and tallest—active lighthouses in its area. The Coast Guard automated the light in 1964, yet locally hired caretakers still reside in the lighthouse keepers’ quarters and maintain the surrounding public park. Where is it? (Answer on page 111.) A Wind Point, Wisconsin B East Tawas, Michigan C Cape Cod, Massachusetts D Narragansett, Rhode Island WHERE, OH WHERE reader’s digest
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