When You Were Once Extraordinary, What Happens When You’re Just Ordinary (in NextTribe)
Andrea Askowitz was a young phenom at tennis. Now at 54, there’s more at stake than winning. Twice a week, I play in an advanced-level clinic at Neighborhood Tennis in Coral Gables. Recently, I partnered with a guy who didn’t seem to trust our coach’s scorekeeping and shouted the score after every point. He didn’t […]
Abortion rights activists have been doing it wrong for 50 years (in NBC THINK)
For every woman seeking an abortion, there’s a man responsible for that unwanted pregnancy. We need them in this fight. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday morning, turning the legality of abortion rights over to states to decide. We’ve failed to keep abortion a constitutional right because we’ve made abortion a women’s […]
If I’m Not the Runner I Was, Who Am I? (in Oldster Magazine)
At 53, Andrea Askowitz reckons with the effects of menopause on her athletic abilities, and struggles to keep up with her 12-year-old son. I’ve been a runner my whole life. Until a year ago, I’d injured myself only once, while sliding, drunk, across a recently mopped floor. I never stretched growing up. Now, I have […]
WRITING LIFE: Writing Class Ruined Me for Social Reentry (in Hippocampus Magazine)
On Thursday, just after noon, I bike to Bagel Emporium. My kids are at home in their rooms, Zooming into class. Sebastian, who’s 12, may be playing Minecraft. Tashi, 17, is probably flipping through TikTok. On my way in, I bump into three moms I know from when Tashi was in elementary school. One mom […]
I Offer You Love, Light, and Blatherskite During this Trying Time (in The Haven)
Thank you for joining me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Clubhouse, Zoom, Google Meet, Facetime, Reddit, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, my podcast, my vlog, and in the cosmos for Love, Light, and Blatherskite. Clever, right? Did you hear the rhyme? I am not a yoga teacher, but I’ve taken an Intensive, Light, Kundalini, Ashtanga, Ayurveda, Pacifist, […]
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 […]
