PinnedMember-onlyThe Thanksgiving Plague, or How I Almost Died in a Coal MineThanksgiving 2008 will always be remembered by my family as the year my grandmother brought a stomach bug to dinner. Mammam Edie was a lovable curmudgeon. None of us — her children or grandchildren — ever had any doubt she loved us, but often her affection took the form of…Thanksgiving9 min readThanksgiving9 min read
May 11, 2020Member-onlySuggestions for Having A Good DaySimple Ways to Have a Better Day I’m a teacher. It was the last weekend of summer, and I was headed back to school. I love my job, and I don’t usually mind the end of the summer. Usually by then I’m ready for structure, routine, and social interaction. Last…Happiness11 min readHappiness11 min read
Published inAge of Awareness·Feb 16, 2020Member-onlyConfession of a Former Bernie Sanders SupporterThis feminist has a confession to make: In the 2016 Democratic primaries, I supported Bernie Sanders. As eager as I was — and still am — to see a woman elected president, Sanders’s progressive policies were far more aligned with my beliefs than Clinton’s. My feminist dream was in conflict…Election 20204 min readElection 20204 min read
Published inIntersections·Feb 16, 2020Member-onlyAbout Intersections“Intersections” is a publication that grew out of “Yoga Stories,” a yoga and writing workshop at Union Street Yoga in Worcester, MA. The yoga practice is led by Heidi Chase, and the writing practice is led by Diane Mulligan. This is how Heidi describes the series: The Yoga Stories workshop…1 min read1 min read
Jan 24, 2020Member-onlyI feel bad for Jeanine CumminsThere. I said it. From one well-meaning white lady to another, I feel bad for you, Jeanine. It’s saying a lot that I feel bad for Cummins, given that in general when I see an author with a runaway, smash hit, all I feel is writerly envy and a sincere…American Dirt5 min readAmerican Dirt5 min read
Published inIntersections·Jan 11, 2020Member-onlyWhat She RemembersIt was a beautiful fall day. Or maybe spring. Maybe it wasn’t beautiful; maybe it was raining. She wasn’t wearing a jacket, so it must not have been very cold, but she knows she was wearing jeans and her favorite, pale pink, mock turtleneck, so it wasn’t summer. Her hair…Me Too Movement6 min readMe Too Movement6 min read
Jul 7, 2019Member-onlyPublishing is Not a MeritocracyI was doing that most time-sucking of all activities earlier today — scrolling through Facebook — and I saw a post about self-publishing in one of my groups. The poster wondered what the group thought about self-publishing. …Publishing5 min readPublishing5 min read
Jul 1, 2019Member-onlyStop Trying to be OriginalThis week I had the privilege of attending the International Boys’ Schools Coalition annual conference. The topic of the conference was the arts. How can we engage boys in the arts and integrate the arts meaningfully into our students’ experiences to help them succeed personally, academically, socially, and emotionally? …Writing5 min readWriting5 min read
Jun 24, 2019Member-onlyThis is FortyLast week I turned forty. I still do not know how I feel about that. I don’t know if I feel forty, because I don’t know what forty feels like. Most people tell me I don’t look forty, which is nice. …Life Lessons5 min readLife Lessons5 min read
Published inThe Startup·May 20, 2019Member-onlyStorytelling Lessons from the Final Season of Game of ThronesContains spoilers galore. You’ve been warned. Last night Game of Thrones came to an end in a spectacular display of anticlimax. Everyone got what they wanted way back in season one. The Starks rule the day. So why is everyone disappointed? The writers of Game of Thrones had an impossible…Game Of Thrones11 min readGame Of Thrones11 min read
