Reader's Digest

In this era of information overload, Reader’s Digest offers something unique: the very best advice, information and inspiration from multiple sources, condensed into an easy-to-read digest. In each issue you’ll get trusted, time-saving insights about Health, Personal Finance, Work, Family, and National issues, PLUS exclusive book excerpts, news-making interviews, and humor.

American Kindness

LETTERS • NOTES ON THE July/August ISSUE

Small Changes

The Ultimate Comfort Food • Rose McGee bakes sweet potato pies for grieving communities all over the country. This year, she found herself serving sweet relief in her own backyard.

Comrades in Arms • Five demonstrators rescue the last person they thought would need their help: one of the cops they were protesting

Abe’s Feline Friends

LIFE • IN THESE UNITED STATES

CHEF BOY-AR-JEEZ!

The WEST COAST GIANT PUMPKIN REGATTA • GARY KRISTENSEN, age 42, Happy Valley, Oregon

Eat Better for the Planet • You’re environmentally conscious—and hungry. Here are answers to all your eco-friendly food questions.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

My Concession Speech • Though the election for president of his house ended in defeat, this member of the loyal opposition prefers to go out with his head held high

News From the WORLD OF MEDICINE

ALL in a Day’s WORK

TAKE A LEFT AT THE GIANT HIKER … • Switzerland is a small country with a big sense of humor. Case in point: Swiss cartographers like to hide figures, such as this hiker and fish, in their maps.

WE FOUND A FIX • 8 TRICKS TO Improve Your Life*

YOUR TRUE STORIES IN 100 Words*

The Witches of Sunset Valley

A Magic, Wild, Meaty Treat

HUMOR in UNIFORM

Superhero with a Secret

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Beagles!

Gut Busters

EXTRAORDINARY USES FOR ORDINARY THINGS • Save time and money with these ingenious tips for getting more out of the stuff you already have

20 MOST TRUSTED BRANDS FOR YOUR HOME AND FAMILY

EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES! • Forget “The dog ate my homework.” These inspired whoppers will leave you shaking your head—and laughing.

SORRY I’M LATE

SO, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE? • We asked RD readers to share their all-time favorite cover stories from real life

Letters from the Front • A collection of war letters, from the Revolution to Iraq, helps us all share in the powerful dreams and fears of our soldiers and their loved ones

THE SNAKE’S REVENGE • When Jeremy Sutcliffe decapitated the poisonous rattler threatening his wife, he assumed that would be the end of the story. He was wrong.

She’s Not Exactly Extra Sharp

LAUGHTER THE BEST Medicine

THERE’S AN ERROR (MESSAGE) ON THE PLAY

Saving Henry’s Last Leg • Black patients lose limbs to diabetes at three times the rate that others do. One doctor is on a mission to spare them this unjust fate.

A Surprising Wind Instrument

My School Desk—in a Bar • It was an unusual place to raise a child, but the characters this boy met in his dad’s saloon gave him a master class in life

IN PRAISE OF HITTING REPEAT • Surprising benefits of “Been there, done that, love it”

Howdy, Planter

BRAIN GAMES

WORD POWER • What a difference a letter makes! This month’s words come in pairs—plus one triplet—that are nearly identical, save one character that has been added, removed, shifted, or replaced. Can you tell these lookalikes apart? Turn to page 122 to find out.

That Sinking Feeling • Don’t let this oft-confused pair get you down: To founder is to sink, like a ship, or to fail utterly at something. To flounder is to thrash about helplessly, either literally or figuratively; think of a...