With her 47th birthday rapidly approaching, my best friend, Lisa, has dipped a toe into online dating for the first time. Lisa is professionally successful, slim and lovely, hilarious and brilliant, cooks like Ina Garten, dresses like a model, and has a head of hair that would make a Disney princess angry. In other words, she is rich, gorgeous, generous, sensitive, and authentically cool (and I am … Continue reading It’s a Date
About a week ago, I received a tweet from a reader named Thomas, which read: I started a novel and got 3/4 the way written then lost inspiration. Anything I can do to rekindle the desire to finish my book? With permission, I’m replying here. Dear Thomas, Let’s begin with a confession: I haven’t finished my debut novel yet either. I’m working on it, with … Continue reading Just You And The Words And The Dark Sky You Shout To
I received the below email from a reader on New Year’s Eve. With her permission, I’m replying here. Dear Stefanie, I’m 37 and single and not a mother. I was engaged for a while and have been in a series of relationships for the last 12 or so years. I recently realized I want to have a family, but I’m mystified as to how I … Continue reading The Life That Will Be Your Life Forever
I have been trying, and failing, to write about the Bill Cosby abuse allegations for weeks. I am finding it nearly impossible to talk about, because I am so sad. On the surface of things, this story doesn’t touch me personally. I’ve never met Cosby. I don’t know any of the many women (23 at this writing) who have accused him of drugging and assaulting them. I believe these women, without … Continue reading Pantheon, One Fallen
I was flattered and delighted when We Wanted to be Writers asked me to contribute to their Books by the Bed series. I was also immediately thrown into all my old insecurities about not being good enough or smart enough or educated enough for this task, since We Wanted to be Writers has its genesis in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, a place that seems nearly mythical to … Continue reading My Life in Books
I was asked to review the book She Can Fly via a thoughtful message on Twitter. Prior to that message, I’d never heard of the book or Kerry Keyes. It’s for the best that I came to She Can Fly cold, because I don’t know that I would have had the courage to pick it up if I’d known what it was about. That would … Continue reading Let’s Talk About Books: She Can Fly by Michael G. Gabel
This summer, my then 8-year-old daughter, Emerson, experienced two important rites of passage. First, she became the object of a young man’s affection. This boy, whom we’ll call DG, had it bad for my moppet. So bad, in fact, that he asked if she had email, and told her that if she did NOT have email he’d make an email for her, so they could write … Continue reading It’s Called FaceTime for a Reason
There is simply no way to overstate how enraptured I am by Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs. I have read the book six times. I have seen the Jonathan Demme movie more times than I can count, and have bought it on every available format, including laser disc*. I saw the musical twice. I own the soundtrack. I have a t-shirt with Precious on it (she’s pictured in her … Continue reading What Should I Eat While I Watch That Movie: The Silence of the Lambs
My daughter, Emerson, is visiting my parents in Miami this week. While the annual pilgrimage to visit grandparents in Florida is an ancient tradition among my people – those people being New York Jews – this is Emmy’s first time making the trip. My parents moved to Florida in October of last year, after a lifetime in New York City and Westchester, and we are … Continue reading Just Stay in the Car
I was diagnosed with scoliosis during a routine visit to my pediatrician when I was around 12 years old, and immediately burst into hysterical tears. I had just finished reading Deenie, Judy Blume’s novel about a beautiful girl with a twisty spine, and I was certain I’d be in a full body brace before sunset. In fact, my curvature is relatively minor, and required nothing more than monitoring until … Continue reading In which I am anally probed by a chiropractor and fitted for a truss, also, some thoughts on love
Working Without a Net 