Passion: What You Do Even if No One NoticesI can hold my dad’s professional and passionate pursuits in my hand. They are an assortment of medals with pens with strong insignia. Red…Sep 13, 2021Sep 13, 2021
The House We Thought We PossessedThe metal inside the old peanut butter and mayonnaise jars weighed heavily in my arms as I carried them up from my dad’s basement workshop…Aug 22, 2021Aug 22, 2021
So Many Ways to Start a Story -I’ve been studying first lines and first pages of memoirs. I’ve rewritten mine at least a million times. Well, maybe not that many, but at…Jul 11, 2021Jul 11, 2021
Have you Been Writing? It’s ComplicatedAvoiding an oft-asked question and figuring out the real answerFeb 12, 2021Feb 12, 2021
The Word of the Year for 2020: Denial Ain’t Just a RiverThey say denial ain’t just a river, but 2020 has been flooded with it. From COVID debunkers to a president who won’t concede the election…Nov 25, 2020Nov 25, 2020
2020: The Year it All Changed, Or Just a Blip?Is the pandemic a blip on the radar? Or will it have long-term lasting effects on the way we live? At a time when we can’t seem to agree…Oct 8, 2020Oct 8, 2020
Myths of the Mind: 20 Years After the Decade of the BrainDid you know it has been 20 years since the decade of the brain? The Decade of the Brain, from 1990–1999, was an initiative by the…Aug 10, 2020Aug 10, 2020
Book Review: The Opposite of Certainty — Finding Myself in the StoryI started reading The Opposite of Certainty, a memoir by Janine Urbaniak Reid, because it’s another story about someone with a brain tumor…Jul 20, 2020Jul 20, 2020
A Group of Artists is Showing How Words MatterAs a writer, words are important to me. I usually write quickly, but still choose my words carefully. When I type, my cursor usually…Jun 7, 2020Jun 7, 2020
Elephants and Tourism Struggle with CoronavirusJust as the pandemic was beginning in February, my husband and I traveled to Laos and Cambodia. It seems like a lifetime ago now when…May 30, 20201May 30, 20201
How This Once Defiant Speaker Found Her VoiceSpeech class was part of my high school curriculum. Our teacher made her grading system clear. I don’t remember how speeches were graded…May 16, 2020May 16, 2020
Theft by Finding and Stealing Ideas During QuarantineI finished reading Theft by Finding by David Sedaris recently. This book of the famous writer’s diary entries from 1977–2002, was exactly…May 8, 2020May 8, 2020
Finding Flow Just May be the Antidote to Quarantine BrainI figured out what my brain is like right now. It is like a rock on the banks of a fast-running stream. Leaves, twigs, branches, logs…Apr 24, 2020Apr 24, 2020
Reserving Judgement: Pandemic in Progress -I am still unsettled. I thought I might feel better as this pandemic progressed, but now five weeks into staying at home to flatten the…Apr 19, 2020Apr 19, 2020
Why is Isolation So Noisy?It has been three weeks since I and most others I know have been isolated at home in the hopes of slowing the spread of Covid-19. At least…Apr 5, 2020Apr 5, 2020
Book Review: The Song Poet -For a writer, writing about your parents can be one of the hardest and most rewarding things to do. You may come to understand someone who…Mar 28, 20202Mar 28, 20202
Five Things You Can Do Now That It’s Spring — Even If You’re Stuck InsideIf you are weary of coronavirus news and you are stuck at home, there is one bit of good news. March 19 marks the first day in spring…Mar 19, 2020Mar 19, 2020
Memoirs by Women for International Women’s Day -Today is International Women’s Day and the theme this year is #EqualforEach. That means a gender equal world in the boardroom, government…Mar 8, 2020Mar 8, 2020
Hearts and Flowers and Troubling Traditions: Valentine’s Day in CambodiaWhen my husband and I planned our vacation to Laos and Cambodia for the first couple weeks of February, we weren’t thinking about…Feb 28, 2020Feb 28, 2020
