My weekly lunch date gently slides into the passenger seat of my sedan. His thin gray hair is carefully combed, his square jaw and cleft chin are freshly shaven. Before I pull away from the two-story house, my childhood home, I lean over to give my 93-… Continue reading
On an unseasonably hot day in June when the temperature was forecast to be in the 90s, I packed several bottles of water, snacks and a couple of books on death (conveniently, my shelves are full of them) and drove to Oakland Cemetery in a historic neig… Continue reading
“If you’re getting older — or preparing to get older — knowing what’s happened in the past is important,” says Gail Collins. What’s happened? Well, throughout history, society’s views on older females have varied widely, even among women themselves, an… Continue reading
When health professor Ann Garvin, 58, of Madison, Wis. challenged herself to write and publish her first novel, she never imagined that it would spark a burning desire to become a career novelist. But in 2009, after two years of carving out stolen mome… Continue reading
“I have given you everything — You don’t know what I gave up for you…Who else could you possibly have in your life?” Mother and daughter. Rita and Elissa. In her new book, Motherland: A Memoir of Love, Loathing and Longing, Elissa Altman, a James Beard… Continue reading
“Make yourself useful,” my dad used to say to me when I was seven, standing around, twisting my arms into skinny pretzels while he washed our family station wagon. The suds splashed around the blue plastic bucket, his strong forearms scrubbing the baby… Continue reading
“Look at your stomach and your big ass,” my mother said with disgust, pointing at my belly. That hit me right on. Here comes another. “Who would ever want to marry you?” Is she done? I wanted to flee. Oh no, she’s got help. “Look, it’s Shamu. Shamu, th… Continue reading
One day during the first week of March 2017, I noticed on my Facebook newsfeed that ballet dancer Misty Copeland was going to be appearing at the Union Square Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York City on March 21 to discuss her recently published b… Continue reading
Christmas Day 2018 was one of the worst days of my life. Just over a month before, my husband of 32 years, Dale, died two days before Thanksgiving of a sudden massive heart attack. He was only 57 and we had been together since we were teenagers. To say… Continue reading
The food was great, the wine was flowing and your friends gave you great gifts for your birthday. You were expecting a wonderful evening. But at the end of the night, you felt let down. And the sad part is — this isn’t the first time it’s happened. You… Continue reading