Astrid Lindstrom was always an inspired writer. While in elementary school in Gambier, Ohio, a small town populated by one thousand people, she felt compelled to organize a poetry anthology. “I was the editor,” says Lindstrom, now a retired teacher and Northampton resident who recently published a memoir about love and loss.

If your auto insurance premium feels higher than ever, you’re not imagining it—and it’s not just inflation. Across the country, insurance costs are rising because of a trend called nuclear verdicts: extremely large jury awards, often over $10 million, even for accidents or claims that used to settle for much less.