WHAT ARE THESE NUMBER ESSAYS ABOUT?
I’m a slow writer. I want to write better. I want to write faster. And like Marianne Williamson says, I have one last chance to get it right. Because there’s no time like the present; because turning 50 is better than the alternative; and because you only live once, I’m going for it. This year, […]
THIS IS HOW I HURT MY KIDS BY HELPING THEM (IN MOTHERWELL)
Since March, since we’ve been locked down with our kids, every other Saturday is cleaning day. Our nanny hasn’t been able to come to work, so I thought I’d use this moment to teach my kids self-reliance. Also, with all of us home all the time, the house is always a disaster and I didn’t […]
“YOU CAN’T WEAR THAT!” WHO DECIDES WHAT TEENS SHOULD WEAR (IN YOUR TEEN MAG)
My daughter is 15. Her favorite outfit is a tube top paired with denim shorts that barely cover her vagina. She argues she should be allowed to wear whatever she wants. She says tube tops and short-shorts are the style; that she feels good in that outfit; that I am a prude. A week ago, […]
“I’M TOTALLY SELFISH NOW THAT I’M A MOM” (IN KVELLER)
When my daughter’s teacher asked me to explain Hanukkah to her first-grade class, my first reaction was, “Hell, no!” / I had no interest in donating my time teaching people’s kids. That’s not because I didn’t want to get into a religious debate, or answer questions I didn’t know the answers to, or be labeled […]
“BRAGGING ABOUT BOOKS” (IN THE WRITER)
Someone tweeted, “Which books do you brag about reading?” I retweeted with a comment, “Every time I read a book I brag about it.” / I’m not a voracious reader. I can’t believe I just wrote that. I hate the term “voracious reader.” As cliché as it is, that’s how every writer describes herself, except me. […]
“I’M 51 AND I’VE NEVER LOOKED BETTER” (IN GLAMOUR)
Every time I see my mom, she tells me, “Dye your hair. You look like an aging hippie.” / I’m 51, and while I fear I’m aging out of a lot of things—the ability to run miles and miles without getting injured, for one—I’m not aging out of looks. There’s a photograph of the writer Susan Sontag taken […]
“OWNING MY SHIT” (IN SWAMP APE REVIEW)
It took two years and 130 houses to find the one. It was my first house and I considered my options carefully. I didn’t rush in. Instead, I rushed to the bathroom. / It was always the kitchen that made my stomach seize. This one was the same as all the others: an industrial-sized refrigerator, dark […]
“I WANT A HUSBAND AND A WIFE” (IN TOGETHER MAGAZINE)
The downstairs toilet clogged. I tried to flush it, but then all the water came up. Maybe it overflowed, I don’t know. I ran. / When Victoria got home from work, I asked her to plunge it. She said she would. Later that night, while turning off the light, I asked, “Did you fix the toilet?” […]
“THE HARD EDITS: WHY EVERY WRITER NEEDS AN EDITOR/FRIEND ” (IN THE WRITER)
I emailed my friend Allison a story I wanted to publish. The story was about my experience volunteering in a foreign country and how I discovered something I don’t like about myself – I’m entitled. It was embarrassing to admit, but I know that to write a story worth anyone’s time, you have to tell […]
“A BOY THREATENED TO RAPE MY 13-YEAR OLD DAUGHTER. I’M SCARED FOR HER FUTURE.” (IN HUFFINGTON POST)
I’m watching Christine Blasey Ford testify in front of the world. She says she was assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who has denied the allegation. / I believe Blasey, because why would anyone put herself and her family through this kind of scrutiny and loss of privacy? Why would anyone make herself the target […]
“CURSE OF BEAUTY” (IN THE RUMPUS)
My daughter posts a bikini selfie on Instagram. Half her ass is showing. I rush to her room and swing the door open so hard the knob makes a hole in the wall. I say, “Take it down.” / My daughter is fourteen. She’s 5’5” and just over a hundred pounds. She looks like a marathon […]
