Essays & Commentaries
Revisiting My Life’s Memories While Sewing Homemade Masks
One writer describes the reverie she experienced when making masks for her family. -Shondaland, July 17, 2020
Why January Is the Best Time to Pick a New Year’s Resolution
Making promises from a place of happiness, even (especially?) hypothetical, hoped-for joy, is a fool’s game. - WBUR’s Cognoscenti Blog, January 31, 2020
It’s a War Movie. A Story About Building a Home. A Tale of Grief.
Reflections on the annual tradition of watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” on the big screen.
- WBUR’s Cognoscenti Blog, December 23, 2019
Watching the Nationals Without My Father
Nearly forty days after losing my dad to cancer, winning and losing seem less important than learning how to endure. - Tablet Magazine, October 29, 2019
I’m Inspired by My Grandmother’s Travels
My grandmother and her mother traveled the world between the two world wars. Their sense of wonder at the beauty of the wide world has never ceased to inspire me. - Our Grandmothers, Our Selves, May 25, 2017
Forget Coloring—Give This Grown-up a Dot-to-Dot
What a relief to sit with a pen and a book and focus on something I can’t possibly do wrong. -JewishBoston.com, April 2016
How Coloring—Without My Son—Became My Meditation Practice
While my son sleeps, I settle down at my desk with colored pencils and an intricate tangle of shapes. Forget staying inside the lines—for me, coloring is a form of meditation. - Jewish Boston, January 2015
We Took the Family Trip of a Lifetime, and Then We Lost the Camera
One distracted moment lost us a thousand precious photos, but reminded us of what we’re lucky enough to bring home from our trip. - Kveller.com, June 17, 2014
Up From the Ashes: A Family Story Unearthed
When my great-grandparents’ cremated remains were disinterred because they’d broken Jewish law, I had to ask myself if I still wanted to be a member of the tribe that was kicking them out. - The Forward, February 2008
Additional NPR Commentaries:
Penetrating the Mystique of the Masons
Writing about this ancient order taught me about my own family. - May 15, 2006
Additional NPR Commentaries:
An Airport Gets its Tree Up, but Misses an Opportunity
Why courage didn’t quite prevail at the Seattle-Tacoma airport. - December 12, 2006
Coming Around to Mister Rogers
I finally see the simple beauty of the man my mother tried to get me to love as a child. And he’s making me look more kindly around my own neighborhood. - Beliefnet.com, May 2005
Additional NPR Commentaries:
Taking Small Claims to Heart: The legal system just got personal. - October 4, 2004
Lucky/Cursed: The Mixed Emotions of a Military Wife
Nearing the end of his military commitment, my husband was sent to the Middle East. What’s a wife to feel? Everything. - Beliefnet.com, October 2003
Additional NPR Commentaries:
The Spiritual Spa
Can a seaweed wrap save my soul? - February 24, 2003
"A Life Apart: Reflections on a Husband's Deployment:"
Part 1: “Deployed,” - June 23, 2003
Part 2: “A Reservist’s Family,” - December 22, 2003
Part 3: “The Box,” -March 9, 2004
Part 4: “Husbands, Reservists in Limbo,” - August 17, 2004
Part 5: “Honorable Discharge,” -January 5, 2005