Don’t see the area of expertise you were hoping for? Email us at hello@saltandsagebooks.com. We have some hidden talents, and we’d love to know how we can better support the writing community!

Meet our Sensitivity & Expert Readers

Neha Patel

Neha Patel

  • Indian culture
  • Hinduism
  • Immigrant experience of the Indian diaspora
  • Intergenerational trauma, casteism
  • Racism (including internalized racism, institutional racism, microaggressions, othering, colonialism, and colorism)
  • Living in the American South as a minority, being liberal in conservative environments, and experiencing culture shock
  • Women’s issues and feminism
  • Interests: literature, political discourse/current events, comedy, traveling and/or road tripping as a woman of color, history of the Western world, and Indian cooking
  • Locations: Southern California, the Deep South (Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama), Missouri, and Texas

Jenna Beacom

Jenna Beacom

  • Deaf
  • ASL
  • Hard of Hearing
  • Cochlear implants
  • General disability representation

Al MacKay

Al MacKay

  • Transmasculinity / transgender men
  • Non-binary identity
  • Gay men & gay masculinity
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Late 2000s & early 2010s internet subcultures
  • Independent comics
  • Bullying (online, verbal, physical)
  • Filmmaking and film history
  • Intimate partner abuse / gaslighting
  • Autism

Ariane Resnick

Ariane Resnick

  • Jewish
  • Gay/lesbian
  • Racially ambiguous
  • Autism
  • Abusive relationship history
  • Partnered with trans men
  • Chronic illness history, working with chronically ill people
  • Birth trauma
  • Interracial relationships
  • Body positivity
  • Sexual and physical assault
  • Femme invisibility
  • Cookbooks, nutrition

Fatin Marini

Fatin Marini

  • Palestinian culture
  • Arab rep
  • Islam
  • Muslim characters
  • Motherhood
  • Expat life
  • Arab diaspora

Mehr Husain

Mehr Husain

  • South Asian religions
  • South Asian culture and traditions
  • Pakistan, history and politics
  • Diaspora, South Asia in Britain

Cassiopeia Gatmaitan ("Cath")

Cassiopeia Gatmaitan ("Cath")

  • Filipino
  • Bisexual, demisexual
  • Non-binary/Gender non-conforming
  • Chronic pain
  • PTSD, depression, anxiety
  • Hard of hearing
  • Body image, eating disorders
  • Boxing
  • Political activism
  • Autism and ADHD
  • Asthma and other chronic respiratory issues

David Pena

David Pena

  • LGBTQ+ culture and experiences, specifically Transgender Bisexual/Gay Men
  • Transmasculine experiences in Spain and the Netherlands
  • Spanish (Spain) culture
  • Only Girls education from 5y.o. until 18y.o.
  • Psychology - anxiety, depression, minority stress, eating disorders
  • Minor Spanish translations/slang use
  • Raised Catholic

Mandy Ballard

Mandy Ballard

  • Death of a spouse, remarriage
  • Parenting/family dynamics
  • Homeschooling
  • Anxiety
  • Faith Transitions
  • Christianity
  • Mormonism
  • Tarot
  • Performing arts (musical theater, vocal/choral, piano, string instruments/orchestra, dance)
  • Fat representation
  • Body positivity and wellness
  • Yoga
  • Physical therapy
  • North American natural resources and wildlife
  • Homesteading (gardening, raising animals, related skills)
  • Cooking and baking

Jordan Merica

Jordan Merica

  • Black Native/Afro-Indigenous Experiences
  • Critical Race Theory Research & Editing
  • Neurodivergence & Trauma Recovery: ADHD and CPTSD
  • Queer BIPOC Experiences
  • Black & Indigenous Womanist Theories
  • Indigenous Land Stewardship
  • Histories outside of White/Eurocentric Timelines
  • Decolonization of Museums and Anthropological Studies
  • Appalachian Environmental Justice & Rural Resistance

Taye Timko

Taye Timko

  • Biracial identity: Black and white; biracial identity struggles and white-passing privilege
  • African-Americans functioning in predominantly white spaces
  • Demiflux/agender/gender nonconforming
  • LGBTQ+ community, pansexual identity
  • Polyamorous, nonmonogamous, interracial relationships
  • Familial homophobia and racism (microaggressions, racism, culture erasure)
  • Infertility
  • Mental illness (depression, General Anxiety Disorder, CPTSD [based on childhood trauma and emotional abuse], executive dysfunction problems)
  • Issues related to fatness, fatphobia, body image, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders
  • Sports Knowledge: Basketball, ice hockey (all men’s team), football (all men’s team), rugby (women’s league)
  • Chronic Illness history (Autoimmune; chronic fatigue, pain management, chronic pain; spoonie culture)
  • Vegetarianism/Plant-based diet experience
  • Childhood chromesthesia; adult mirror-touch synesthesia
  • Educator (M.A. in teaching)

Kim VanderHorst

Kim VanderHorst

  • Canadian
  • Autistic
  • Demisexual
  • Mental Health (ADD, OCD, Anxiety, Depression, Suicidal Ideation)
  • Difficult Pregnancies & Miscarriage
  • Death of a Parent
  • Performing Arts (Music)

Karen A. Parker, MFA

Karen A. Parker, MFA

  • White (German ancestry), Black (African American), Indigenous Native American heritage
  • "Sounding white," xenophobia, living in Japan as a foreigner
  • Languages: English and some Japanese
  • Bisexual, graysexual
  • Nonbinary, femme-presenting, masc-presenting, gender identity confusion, gender dysphoria
  • Generalized anxiety disorder, mild depression, ASD Level 1
  • Secular Buddhism, tarot, Western astrology, some Christianity
  • Puberty, PMS, menstruation, hormone cycles
  • Biracial upbringing
  • Middle class, college graduate
  • English literature, Japanese language and literature
  • Freelance, self-employment, contract-based employment
  • Creative writing, some musical composition knowledge
  • Running TTRPGs, livestreaming, video games, anime

Melli

Melli

  • Korean American
  • Christian
  • Third culture kid (immigrant culture, code-switching)
  • Racism (microagressions, macroagressions, stereotypes, colorism, Eastern vs. Western beauty standards, etc.)
  • Ageism
  • Tokenism
  • Special needs education (ABA in home, school, and community settings; family support)

Victoria

Victoria

  • Korean American
  • 2nd generation immigrants
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • PTSD
  • Chronic illness
  • Estrangement
  • Surgery
  • Multi-lingual households
  • Growing up in a white-dominated southern city as a person of color (specifically Charlottesville, Virginia)
  • Racism (including internalized racism and institutional racism)
  • Sexualization of East Asian women
  • Anti Asian abuse

Laz Shaak

Laz Shaak

  • White passing, assimilated mixed Métis
  • Transgender men
  • Invisible disability
  • Epilepsy, seizure disorder
  • Childhood transition / hormone replacement therapy as a teenager
  • Gay men / gay masculinity
  • Family estrangment
  • Low income, on disability benefits
  • Video games, including mobile games

Amy Derickson

Amy Derickson

  • Trans women
  • Nonbinary people
  • Relationships involving LGBTQ+ identities
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • ADHD
  • Pansexual/Bisexual
  • Drag Culture

Kira Aitch

Kira Aitch

  • Black
  • Biracial/Multiracial
  • Pansexual/Queer
  • Wheelchair/Ambulatory Wheelchair Use
  • ADHD
  • Trichotillomania
  • OCD
  • Anxiety and Depression
  • Meniere's Disease
  • Chronic Illness
  • Midwestern

Thais Carreira Afonso

Thais Carreira Afonso

  • Afro-Brazilian
  • Latine
  • Lesbian
  • Ace spec/Demi-sexuality
  • Neurodivergency

Neelam "Leona Maple" Gandevia

Neelam "Leona Maple" Gandevia

  • Asian
  • Indian
  • Indian culture
  • South Asian/Indo-Canadian/Gujarati
  • Vancouver, Canada
  • Hindu, mixed spiritual beliefs
  • Woman
  • Racism
  • Feminism, intersectional feminism, intersectionality
  • Demisexual, pansexual, and queer
  • Depression, anxiety, executive dysfunction

Melanie K.

Melanie K.

  • Chinese-Canadian/Asian-American
  • Chinese diaspora culture
  • 2nd generational identity issues
  • Immigrant parents from British colony
  • Postcolonial ethnic relations
  • Catholicism and Catholic school
  • Racism
  • Fetishization
  • Interracial relationships
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Chronic illness (skin-related issues)
  • PTSD from chronic illness
  • Food history and culture
  • Art and design
  • Cultural anthropology

Sachiko Suzuki

Sachiko Suzuki

  • Japanese-American characters, history, and issues, including hafu/quafu life
  • White-presenting mixed-race; minority culture
  • Large family life, homeschooling
  • Traumatic childbirth, child loss, and grief
  • Christianity, Puritanism, and religious sensitivity; post-Mormon concerns
  • Trauma, sexual abuse/assault, PTSD, self-harm and suicidal ideation
  • Recovery life and therapy
  • Military life (specifically USAF)
  • Body positivity, fatphobia, and fat activism
  • Eating disorders
  • Special needs children, specifically: failure-to-thrive, genetic issues, and early intervention
  • Abusive relationships
  • Mental inpatient care

Lune Dube

Lune Dube

  • Abenaki and Mohawk Native American
  • Ashkenazi Jewish
  • Biracial
  • Iroquois/Haudenosaunee History and Culture
  • Bisexual/Pansexual
  • Nonbinary: Two-Spirit
  • ADHD, Anxiety, C-PTSD, Depression, OCD
  • Childhood Trauma (Emotional, Sexual and Verbal Abuse)
  • Witchcraft and Paganism
  • Childcare and Summer Camps
  • Wilderness Education
  • Geek Culture

Mikki Helmer

Mikki Helmer

  • LGBT issues, specific to Lesbian and Bi-sexual matters
  • Demisexuality
  • LGBTQIA intersectionality with mental health (depression, anxiety, bi-polar, manic cycles)
  • Mental health
  • LGBT intersectionality with religion (Mormonism, atheism, paganism, druidry)
  • Mormonism / Ex-Mormonism
  • Horses/Equestrian (Western riding, hunt seat, dressage, medieval riding, trick riding, vaulting, training, mares & foals/breeding, shoeing/farrier, endurance, mounted joust, equine armor, horse breeds and horse types, equine psychology and behavior, mounted fighting, mounted archery)
  • Falconry
  • Archery
  • Tea (history, brewing, holistic uses)
  • Western United States geography and survival

Stefanie Molina

Stefanie Molina

  • Mexican American
  • Japanese American
  • Irish American
  • Mixed-race/multiethnic
  • Bisexual/Pansexual
  • Anxiety
  • Panic disorder
  • Emotional/psychological abuse
  • PTSD, particularly C-PTSD
  • ADHD

Basil Wright

Basil Wright

  • African-American
  • Seminole
  • Southern Baptist
  • Hoodoo/General Witchcraft
  • Queer
  • Agender
  • Asexual
  • Autistic
  • ADHD
  • Anxiety
  • Physical disability (scoliosis, TBI)
  • Dyscalculia

Veronica Vega

Veronica Vega

  • ADHD & ASD
  • Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Ideation
  • Trauma Associated with Childhood Bullying
  • Executive Dysfunction Associated with ADHD
  • Racism, Microaggressions, Racial Profiling
  • Fat Politics
  • LGBTQ+
  • Interracial Relationships, Racism & The Dating Scene
  • Math Anxiety and Dyscalculia
  • Afro-Latinx Culture
  • Immigrant Experience, Alien Status & Deportation Anxiety
  • Jamaican Patois, Patois, AAVE, Caribbean Dialects
  • The Caribbean
  • Eating Disorders (EDNOS, Binge Eating, Purging, Restriction & Food Obsession)
  • CBT
  • Catholicism
  • Multiculturalism in the USA (Specifically African American And Afro-Caribbean American Culture)
  • Music & Musical Theatre Major, Experience in Musical Theatre, Auditioning, Stage Management
  • Feminism
  • Weightlifting, Powerlifting, Swimming And CrossFit
  • Black Politics, Reparations, And Black Activism (BLM Etc.)
  • POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), GERD, Hidden Illnesses
  • Anxious Attachment
  • Weightlifting, Powerlifting and CrossFit
  • Fandom, Cosplay and Fanfic

Dr. D

Dr. D

  • Educational innovation
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Improvisational theater and scientific communication
  • Physics
  • Computer security
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Experimental techniques in science
  • Preservation and restoration of Native American science and history
  • Clean energy
  • Data mining
  • Search for precursors

Melissa Vera

Melissa Vera

  • Latine (Chicane and/or Mexican American)
  • 2nd Generation American
  • Conservative Christianity
  • Religious Disaffiliation
  • Queer, Gay, Bisexual
  • Demisexuality
  • OCD
  • ADHD
  • Major Depressive Disorder
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
  • ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)
  • Binge Eating Disorder
  • Disordered Eating
  • Eating Disorder Partial Hospitalization
  • English/Spanish Code-switching
  • Interracial Relationships
  • Racism and Microaggressions
  • Familial Homophobia
  • Familial Estrangement
  • Parent with Borderline Personality Disorder
  • US/Mexico Border Culture
  • ABA Therapy
  • Locations: Ohio, Boston, San Francisco, Texas, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico

Cameron Van Sant

Cameron Van Sant

  • Transgender men
  • Pansexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, and questioning sexualities
  • Non-binary genders
  • Gender questioning
  • Christian Protestantism, ex-Christians

Tova Seltzer

Tova Seltzer

  • Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism
  • Asexuality/the ace spectrum
  • Child of a same-sex couple and of separated/remarried same-sex parents
  • Conception via sperm donation
  • Phobias
  • Aromanticism
  • Tabletop gaming
  • Spanish language (working fluency, translation)

Patricia Ruiz

Patricia Ruiz

  • Latinx women
  • Mixed race identity
  • Standard and regional Spanish language and culture (including translations)
  • Standard and regional French language and culture (including translations)
  • Latinx diaspora in the USA
  • Jewish identity and communities
  • Mental Illness (Generalized Anxiety Disorder)
  • Body image and eating disorders
  • Translation checks: Spanish, French, German, and Brazilian Portuguese
  • Latinx culture (Puerto Rico, Cuban, Dominican, Caribbean), 1970s and 1980s Argentine history

Helen Gould

Helen Gould

  • TTRPGs
  • Black and mixed-race people
  • Race relations within the UK
  • Gender and sexuality
  • Mental health, trauma, depression

Savannah Tenderfoot

Savannah Tenderfoot

  • Ojibwe
  • Algonquin
  • Irish
  • British
  • Ashkenazi Jewish (Agnostic)
  • Anxiety & Depression

Amy Bowen, LCMHC

Amy Bowen, LCMHC

  • PTSD, cPTSD, Trauma
  • Sexual assault, rape, abuse (including childhood)
  • Emotional and mental abuse (including narcissistic abuse)
  • Dissociation and dissociative disorders
  • Mental illness (depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, personality disorders, etc.)
  • Therapy process

Heba Elsherief

Heba Elsherief

  • Muslim
  • Arab
  • Egyptian
  • Arab Diaspora
  • Post-Colonial People/Themes

Leila Halimo

Leila Halimo

  • Black
  • Somali
  • Canadian, American
  • Islam
  • Trans woman
  • ADHD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, OCD
  • Physical disabilities, IBS, GERD
  • Body Image Issues
  • Gender Identity Issues
  • Abuse (Domestic, Physical, Emotional, Mental, CSA)
  • Racism/Anti-Blackness (microaggressions, discrimination, dehumanization)
  • Poverty
  • Immigration (child of immigrants, immigrant herself)
  • Islamophobia
  • Homophobia
  • Transphobia

Rebecca Blevins

Rebecca Blevins

  • Personal neurodivergent experience includes clinical anxiety, clinical depression, ADHD, OCD markers, dyscalculia
  • Autistic
  • Parent of four children (three adult one teen) including three autistic, with all children having a mix of ADHD, OCD, clinical depression, anxiety disorders, and executive functioning challenges. Does not support Autism Speaks.
  • Brain health (OCD, general anxiety disorder, clinical depression, non-military PTSD, postpartum depression, bulimia, body dysmorphic disorder, fat phobia)
  • Chronic illness
  • Mobility aid use
  • Biromantic
  • Demiromantic
  • Graysexual/greyace
  • Bisexual
  • Body positivity
  • Natural lifestyle (vegetarianism/veganism/plant-based eating, natural remedies, etc)
  • Homeschooling (graduating from, teaching own children, transitioning to public school)
  • High-risk pregnancy (bedrest, hyperemesis gravidarum, placenta previa, diabetes, traumatic birth)
  • Medical trauma, medical sexual assault
  • Midwestern USA
  • Certified group fitness instructor, dance fitness, weight training
  • Rural, small-town living
  • GED graduate
  • First-gen college graduate
  • Growing up far below U.S. poverty line and on government welfare
  • Former Mormon/LDS
  • Agnostic theism

Nico Westbrook

Nico Westbrook

  • Black American
  • Microagressions
  • Racism
  • Being Black in predominantly white spaces
  • Interracial relationships
  • Biracial
  • Queer/LGTBQ characters and themes
  • Trans
  • Nonbinary
  • Gender nonconforming
  • Homophobic family
  • Polyamory
  • Neurodivergence (Autism and ADHD specifically)
  • Mental illness (Bipolar, Depression, Anxiety, PTSD)
  • Chronic pain
  • Body image
  • Christianity
  • Gaming and TTRPGs
  • Coffee

Madison Parrotta

Madison Parrotta

  • Italian
  • Bisexual
  • Disabled
  • Wheelchair user
  • Spinal Muscular Atrophy
  • Disability in Theater
  • Surgery
  • Ableist Physician Experiences
  • Adaptive Technology
  • Physical Therapy
  • Medication
  • Alcoholism
  • Disabled Sexuality

Nicole Hawken

Nicole Hawken

  • CFLE (Certified Family Life Educator)
  • Childbirth: traumatic, home, natural, PPD & PPA
  • Mental health, including anxiety, depression, addiction, CPTSD, bipolar, narcissism, and sociopathy
  • Sexual assault
  • Betrayal trauma
  • CBT therapy, DBT therapy, group therapy, marriage counseling, EMDR
  • Institutionalization (mental hospital)
  • Deconstruction from a high demand religion
  • LGBTQ+ ally
  • Parenting anxious and depressed children
  • Parenting neurodivergent children
  • Single parenting
  • Foster care and CPS intervention
  • Blended families & dysfunctional family systems
  • Family court
  • Locations: Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina, Colorado, Mississippi

Lydia Suen

Lydia Suen

  • Chinese-American culture
  • The mixed-race experience
  • Children of immigrants
  • Tiger parents
  • Complex family relationships
  • Interracial romance
  • Faith transitions
  • Archery
  • Gamer culture
  • San Francisco Bay area
  • Ancient Chinese magic systems

Justin Ho

Justin Ho

  • Chinese American
  • Christian
  • LGBTQ+ community
  • Schizoaffective Disorder (Bipolar Type 1 + Schizophrenia)
  • Interpersonal, institutional, and internalized homophobia
  • Growing up in a Christian school
  • Growing up in Hawaii
  • Inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment
  • Gaming community experience
  • Stan culture (Pop stars, One Direction, K-pop)
  • Fan fiction reader and writer

Ravi Teixeira

Ravi Teixeira

  • Transmasculine and nonbinary people
  • Mixed Cape Verdean
  • Mixed or light-skinned people of color
  • Hard of hearing
  • Mental illness
  • Comics, graphic novels, etc.

Hinahina Gray

Hinahina Gray

  • Native Hawaiian and White
  • Hoʻomana Hawaiʻi
  • Māhū
  • Pansexual
  • Depression, anxiety, and PTSD
  • Indigenous Diaspora
  • Native Hawaiian Spiritualism
  • The Mixed-Race Experience

Al Ross

Al Ross

  • Non-binary Identity
  • Trans masc identity
  • Bisexuality
  • Non-binary Identity & Bisexuality Intersectionality
  • Ulcerative Colitis / IBD
  • General Anxiety & Panic Disorder
  • Major Depressive Disorder
  • ADHD
  • Anthropology
  • Film/Television Production

Akelah Adams

Akelah Adams

  • African-American culture and issues
  • Military experience, including relocating and living on base
  • Latinx culture and issues
  • Racism
  • Asexuality spectrum
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Fatphobia
  • Death of a loved one
  • Family members getting cancer
  • The grieving process
  • Growing up in the U.S. South
  • City life
  • Going to school/university in a foreign country
  • Culture shock
  • Fostering and adopting
  • Comics, graphic novels, etc.
  • Video games



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