“And I said to my body, softly, ‘I want to be your friend,’ It took a long breath and replied, ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this.’” –Nayyirah Waheed Every Memorial Day I am reminded that I am not yet my body’s friend. In fact, the day that marks the start of summer...

I didn’t earn the nickname “Tourettes” for my great small-talk skills. If there is a way to accidentally offend someone, I will find it. Here are some of my favorites: When I took my daughter Katherine, whom my husband and I named after my grandmother and my great grandmother, two very strong women in our...

I wanted to take my daughter to the mall. That shouldn’t be so difficult, right? I overheard her on the phone saying to a friend, “You’re so lucky that your mom likes to shop. My mom HATES the mall.” It’s true. Malls, like carnivals and amusement parks, give me anxiety. They always have. When I...

“I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders,” says a Jewish proverb. A member of my online depression group, Project Beyond Blue, posted it today. I asked them for ways they cope with the limitations of depression because I needed inspiration. My kids have had maybe eight full days of school since...

I spent this morning looking for a beautiful quote I read about a month ago, something along the lines of what motivational speaker John Bradshaw said: “I define a ‘good person’ as somebody who is fully conscious of their own limitations. They know their strengths, but they also know their ‘shadow’ – they know their...