by Patricia Yarberry Allen, MD It is so easy to focus on the things that go wrong on a daily basis — the petty annoyances of daily life — and yet so oddly difficult to recognize the joys. I am often invited into the lives of people who are no longer pain free. They may [...]

by Laura Sillerman At this age, I feel as though I’ve made them all: Lose 15 pounds (done), master the yoga headstand (undone), learn to speak Italian (undone), forgive those I’ve yet to forgive (mostly done), do the NYC Marathon (ah, yes, done, with dear Connie who died just a year ago — I’m so [...]

Agnes Krup, a literary agent, had a not-so-wonderful Christmas in 2004. This year, she is embarking upon a travel adventure in New York City, where she lives. Notes from New York will be posted throughout the week. So much for making plans for a week of vacation alone at home. My daughter is back with [...]

by Laura Sillerman I went in, in my bathing suit with big cotton pants rolled up to my knees. Went into the 47-degree December ocean. Went in with 740 other screaming, laughing, leaping members of the town who were raising money for a charity that recognizes that illegal immigrants are the only way the lawns [...]

Agnes Krup, a literary agent, had a not-so-wonderful Christmas in 2004. This year, she is embarking upon a travel adventure in New York City, where she lives. Notes from New York will be posted throughout the week. In the last two days, I have spent a lot of time on line, waiting to go through [...]

Carol Muske-Dukes is real, but almost too good to be. Poet, essayist, novelist, and, above all, teacher, she is a woman’s woman. She is true to the poet’s obligation to pay witness to the truth. She is, on the page and off, most of who we all strive to be. The author of seven books [...]

by Patricia Yarberry Allen, MD First "French Women Don’t Get Fat," and now a French woman may become the next president of France. Despite the fact that French politics have been controlled by men, almost forever, it seems that Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal (love that last name!) is not only running for president but running [...]

by Douglas A. McIntyre Judi Dench is onstage this holiday season playing Mistress Quickly in "The Merry Wives of Windsor." The production is at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford. As one reviewer said: "Miss Dench surpasses herself as Mistress Quickly — with song, dance and blank verse delivered in the blink of an eye [...]

by Faith Childs Winter’s approach is a reminder of the impermanence of everything, of the constancy of change. Shorter days, darkness at five o’clock. Root vegetables and foods that fortify help to stave off the worst of the season as rosé yields to red wine, brandy and spirits, and Trollope replaces beach reading in preparation [...]

by Agnes Krup Editor’s note: A diary of Agnes’ travels, a "vacation at home" in New York, will appear on Women’s Voices for Change the week of Dec. 25. Two years ago, I had to spend my first Christmas without my daughter. She was 5, and behind me lay what was an acrimonious divorce at [...]