Samuel and Loo Hawley, the father-daughter protagonists of Hannah Tinti’s Edgar-nominated drama-suspense novel The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley continue the modern tradition of the antihero—intensely flawed characters who make wrong decisions, and plenty of them, and who can often be deeply unlikeable, but whom we root for anyway. In Samuel’s case,…
Sometimes you just have to close your eyes and take the leap. That’s what artist Sarah Pike discovered a few years ago. After dedicating a large portion of her career to academia, the convergence of an economic downturn, university politics, and a serendipitous conversation with a colleague sparked an idea. She left behind the safety…
Bad English Is Bad for Business. Here’s How to Fix It. While it’s true that a great idea transcends languages, a great idea marketed poorly is likely to get the cold shoulder from customers. If your business is based in the U.S. and English is your native language, you have an advantage . . ….
It takes a strong stomach—and an even stronger sense of perseverance—to run an animal sanctuary. Though the glossy brochures for well-known sanctuaries like Best Friends in Kenab, Utah, have helped popularize the concept and made these centers look like grass-and-woodland paradises (and have even helped make Best Friends a vacation destination), the day-to-day work that…
For an 85-year-old, Jacob’s Pillow is looking awfully good. This summer, the country’s longest-running dance festival announced a new strategic plan that will change the face of the organization, as well as shake up many of its decades-old habits. Dubbed Vision ’22 for its five-year range, the plan charts a roadmap for turning the…
In 1533, when Francisco Pizzaro and his band of not-so-merry Spanish conquistadors captured Cuzco, Peru, they were so awestruck by the gold and silver masks, statues, and jewelry they uncovered that they failed to recognize the most treasured possessions of the Inca: fine textiles made from the soft, durable fiber of the alpaca. The Inca,…
I’ve spoken at a variety of conferences and special events, but one of my favorites is the Women in Travel Summit, cheekily knows as WITS. Although I spoke for the first time at WITS in April 2017, the reasons for my instant love affair with this conference are many, from the range of beginner to…
“I am my mother’s fourth child and my father’s thirty-ninth.” Over the past couple of decades, memoirs have gone in flashier, more attention-grabbing directions. But few have the quiet impact of this opening, from Ruth Wariner’s 2016 contemplative memoir The Sound of Gravel. While uneven, Wariner’s book is a worthy entry into an…
If you’re like me, when you go out to a restaurant, you typically order dishes you wouldn’t make for yourself at home. One of my restaurant faves is butternut squash ravioli—a toasty, fall-harvest-flavored treat that I would regularly comb bistro menus for . . . until I started eating non-dairy. Finding vegan butternut squash ravioli…
Although I wish it were under different circumstances, I’m thrilled that sexual harassment and violence against women is finally—finally—part of mainstream national discourse. Thanks to the hundreds of accusations collectively leveled against professional leches like Harvey Weinstein, Mark Halperin, Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, James Toback, Bill O’Reilly, former President George H. W. Bush, and…