In early January, French author and filmmaker Yann Moix took a bath into a cauldron of hot water by declaring in an interview with the French edition of Marie Claire that women over age 50 are “too, too old” to love, and thus are “invisible” to him. He based his argument on the highly…
A couple of months ago at a women-in-business networking meeting, one participant started talking about feelings of intense self-doubt that develop in certain work situations. The rest of the women in the group nodded and confirmed they’d had similar experiences. Some shared their own stories of this phenomenon, popularly known as imposter syndrome, and…
I’m the type of person who enjoys the company of animals as much as that of humans . . . sometimes even more so. I work out of a home office, usually with a pet on my lap, and I often wake up in the middle of the night, unable to turn over because…
I just came back from a conference in California where a significant number of the speakers and attendees were influencers or aspiring influencers—people with many thousands, sometimes many hundreds of thousands—of followers on social media, and who often make a living through paid “collaborations.” Although I was speaking at the conference (for a second…
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…
Long before 13 Reasons Why, there was teen suicide. And decades before To the Bone premiered last month, eating disorders were an entrenched, if little discussed, part of Western culture. So why are these movies and shows now being blamed for copycat behavior? To the Bone and 13 Reasons Why aren’t…
I received discounted printing services from Fracture in exchange for writing this post. In my post on the need for silence, I mentioned that my partner, who just got a new job in Eastern Massachusetts, and I are considering a move, and the complex issues it’s raised. (More on that to come in…
Confession time: I am spoiled. For the past 17 years, I’ve lived in the rural-est of rural neighborhoods, down a road-less-traveled, dead-end gravel street, on 7.5 acres, surrounded by white pine woods and hay fields, and expanses of sky so wide-open, it seems as if I can breathe in all the constellations on…
In November 2015, after a three-year string of heroin overdoses left 12 dead in Averill Park, New York, an article in the Albany Times-Union noted that overdoses in the state had more than doubled from 2008 to 2012, and hospital admissions for heroin and prescription opioids had increased 222 percent between 2004 and…
This guest piece about love and loss has special resonance for me. Peter McLaughlin was a fine journalist and a good friend. Although there was almost a 20-year age difference between us, we were born on the same day and bonded immediately over a shared love of great writing, discussions that pinged from one idea…