by Liz Smith | bio I know I'm supposed to always be full of gossip, entertainment and good cheer. But what I am these days is a medical "expert" on what can happen in menopause to the old immune system when it fails in small, but not deathly, ways. I have the minor irritations of [...]

by Elizabeth Hemmerdinger | bio On Monday night I listened to George Bush deliver his final State of the Union address. The speech was so full of hogwash it’s difficult to imagine why anyone would pay the slightest bit of attention. But there I sat, as another hour of my life drifted by, an hour [...]

Election 2008: Add Women, Change Everything?: Marie Wilson of The White House Project argues that we need more than leaders: While a heroic leader can inspire us, he or she does not single-handedly create change. It is up to each of us to join together and become our nation’s change-makers. For those who feel overwhelmed [...]

by Susan Ringo Susan Ringo celebrates her 60th One of these days I’ll team up with my friends and write the "Fabulous Woman’s Guide to Turning 60 Fabulously." But for now, here’s the story of my party. After considering a trip to a favorite destination like Paris (boring), I decided instead on a four-day party [...]

by Patricia Yarberry Allen, MD | bio My mother-in-law, Natalie McIntyre, is my idol. Eighty years old, she comes from strong, Depression-era Swedish-American stock. She is an autodidact on a level matched only by the likes of Abraham Lincoln. Her passion for social justice, theology, Jungian psychology, the Saturday afternoon Metropolitan Opera performances (she listens [...]

Bidding on Politics: "As she prepares to depart from EBay after a decade at the helm, Chief Executive Meg Whitman appears to be investigating a new career — in politics," reports the L.A. Times. "Whitman has talked with top Republicans about the possibility of a run for California governor in 2010, according to three operatives [...]

The New York Times looks at the advice in the new book "How Not to Look Old," by Charla Krupp, a former beauty director at Glamour who writes a column for More magazine (read an excerpt). The NYT's Natasha Singer writes: The book is the latest makeover title to treat the aging of one's exterior [...]

Menopause Symptoms Improve as Menopause Progresses: Good news — It gets better. "So many symptoms are attributed to menopause, with the belief that they get worse with menopause," Dr. Ellen W. Freeman of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, told Reuters Health. But "a number of women will find relief once menopause is reached." And [...]

by Beth Camp For the first time in my life, the alarm clock doesn't ring in the morning. I don't commute to work. I don't work 70-hour weeks. Instead, I begin most mornings with my laptop, writing. The rest of the day is spent with my best friend — my husband of 32 years, a [...]

by Agnes Krup | bio The other day, I ran into my ex-husband on an online dating website. At first I almost scrolled by, but I was drawn to the curious tag line in which the poster likened himself to a famous actor — the same actor my ex had always greatly admired. I scrutinized [...]