Book Review: Tara Parker Pope’s “For Better: The Science of a Good Marriage”

August 17, 2010 by Ainslie Jones Uhl

By Ainslie Uhl

From the New York Times columnist, a book on what happens after we say ‘I do’—and how to make a marriage better.

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Looking Ahead: A Meditation on Siblings and Caring For Mom and Dad

July 8, 2010 by Ainslie Jones Uhl

By Ainslie Jones Uhl

Midway through WVFC’s summer-long Focus on Caregiving, Ainslie Jones Uhl examines upcoming challenges and how her parents’ aging may change the dynamics among her siblings.

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Book Review: Dominique Browning’s Slow Love

May 25, 2010 by Ainslie Jones Uhl

by Ainslie Jones Uhl

The strength of Browning’s memoir, says Ainsle Jones Uhl, is that it celebrates the process of loss and redemption, warts and all.

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Resolution: Go Grassroots for Girls

March 21, 2010 by Ainslie Jones Uhl

By Ainslie Jones Uhl

Amid all the talk of women worldwide and women’s history, an action plan for all of us to empower young women closer to home. I’m starting by helping stop human trafficking in my state.

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The Compass Rose: Finding Your Own Face in the Crowd

March 16, 2010 by Ainslie Jones Uhl

By Ainslie Jones Uhl

Ainslie Uhl wraps up “The Compass Rose,” her episodic reflections on creating a new life in Southern California, with the promise of new topics to come.

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The Compass Rose: Kindred Spirits

January 25, 2010 by Ainslie Jones Uhl

An attractive blonde, wine glass in hand, sidled up to my husband. I could tell she was smart. She subtly moved her gaze from one end of the room to the other, checking for eavesdroppers in the crowd, as though she and he were co-conspirators in a clandestine operation. I moved in and assumed a [...]

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The Compass Rose: Saving Father Christmas From Kris Kindle

December 13, 2009 by Ainslie Jones Uhl

ainslieuhl

My office, right now, is a shameless jumble of multiple typed drafts of works in progress, random but important thoughts penned on index cards, carefully considered newspaper clippings, half-filled Moleskines and yellow legal pads, and dozens of books piled not so neatly on the floor. It is a writer’s room. Additional works of fiction, non-fiction [...]

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The Compass Rose: Thicker Than Water

November 25, 2009 by Ainslie Jones Uhl

ainslieuhl

“Let’s have a family Thanksgiving,” I said to my friend Mary, “without any blood relatives.” It was a time a few years ago when I had had my fill of filial histrionics and was fed up with the my-way-or-the-highway holiday hosts. I wanted a tradition without the traditional baggage, a happy feast prepared and shared [...]

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The Compass Rose: Dealing With the DMV and Other Tales

October 27, 2009 by Ainslie Jones Uhl

ainslieuhl

My birthday in early October was not particularly noteworthy until I realized it was the day that my North Carolina driver’s license was to expire. For years, I renewed my license with simple traffic sign tests, paid the fee and left with a new picture of an older me, a colorful mug shot set on [...]

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The Compass Rose: Freedom, Sunshine and West Coast Casual

September 20, 2009 by Ainslie Jones Uhl

ainslieuhl

My husband invited me to dinner last week. He made reservations at the finest restaurant in our neck of the woods: a white tablecloth sort of place, with a dining terrace positioned for viewing unobscured sunsets over the Pacific Ocean and designed for lovers anticipating the night. At last! Having the older kids in college [...]

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