I've been absent for a month, but since no one is knocking down the door about that, I'm going to roll along. Two days ago, I read this harrowing story of the sexual assaults suffered by advice columnist Jean E. Carroll. The most brutal of those "assaults" is a rape she says was committed by the sitting U.S. President. 

This essay is powerful, devastating, disgusting, scary and, ultimately, sad. 

My political leanings are no secret -- I'm a liberal democrat and I vote that way. I never in a million years thought a former reality TV host with a history of bankruptcies, public adulteries and divorces and crass comments on regular visits to a crass radio show (The Howard Stern Show)  would be the leader of my country. 

Carroll is the 22nd woman to accuse him of a range of unwanted sexual advances. This accusation is the most brutal and, as hard as it is to read, the best thing I've read this week. 

Now that finals, end-of-semester grading, graduations and summer class prep are finished, let's get back to the blog -- and mix it up just a bit.

In addition to teaching and researching this summer, I have undertaken a new project that puts me back on press row -- I will be covering the Connecticut Sun for The Athletic's WNBA vertical. 

It has been a decade since I served as a full-time sports reporter when I covered the Washington Huskies football program for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.  In the 10 years since, I have earned master's and doctorate degrees, got hired and earned tenure at Quinnipiac University and had the pleasure (and pain) of teaching hundreds of students. 

I got my professional start in professional women's basketball, serving as an editor of WNBA.com in 1998 and '99. I worked for the Seattle Storm in its inaugural season -- as my friends and students know -- a short, rocky foray into public relations. (Live and learn!) 

My excitement level over the opportunity to cover the local WNBA team could not be higher. The Athletic has a unique brand of storytelling I plan to add to and enhance. 

So, with this announcement, I give you the best thing I've written this week -- my 2019 Connecticut Sun preview.  And, that will be the end of my self-promotion on this blog.  However, if you are new to The Athletic, go on over, check out the launch page and get yourself a subscription for 40 percent off at theathletic.com/wnbalaunch.  You can always follow me on Twitter, too, @mollyyanity. 

This is long, so you might want to listen to it. The New Yorker has graciously provided the audio for you.

For me, though, part of the beauty of this entire exercise is the fact I get to sit down and actually read something, then share it with you. And, -- again, at least for me -- experiencing spellbinding reporting is something I find to be absolutely beautiful.

This story made me feel -- sympathy, conflict, warmth, sadness, loss, confusion. It taught me things I didn't know. And, it made me ashamed. 

It also made me ask myself repeatedly, how did the author know what he knew? It's a question great reporters force upon us, then answer with their reporting through sources and documents. 

Ben Taub is one of the best. And, in this article, he shows us why.