The Power of Positive Words
We can try to overcome the fact that so many of us are feeling down and divided and work up some good old "sisu" to get us through this.
Read More »
‘Love, Gilda’ Remembers SNL’s Original Funny Girl
'Love, Gilda' is finely crafted, interesting, and entertaining. It's well worth seeing, but will leave you wanting more.
Read More »
What to Expect for the Influenza Season
An annual seasonal flu vaccine is the best way to reduce the chances that you will get seasonal flu and spread it to others. When more people get vaccinated, less flu can spread through that community.
Read More »
“A Day of Peace,” “Freud Before Bed,” and “Distortion Formulas,” by Kathleen Winter
I find today’s poems marvelously lyrical and experiential—phrases like “sweet deviant chant,” “less the nuance,” and “suave hours” give sharp delight in their sound and sense.
Read More »
Feeling Lit from Within: The Power of Self-Love
If you don’t have a well-internalized sense of self-worth it is like lacking a steady pilot light—you always need to be lit by something external or someone else.
Read More »
Murphy Brown is Back with Trump
in its Crosshairs
I'm glad that "Murphy Brown" is back. When the first episode ended, I felt like I sometimes do when getting together with old friends after a long absence. Things are different; but the times you shared are still cherished.
Read More »
Osteoporosis Prevention
The greatest bone loss occurs is in the first 5 years after menopause. This is what every woman in her 40s should do to optimize lifelong bone health.
Read More »
Poetry Sunday: “In the Walnut Grove,”
“Pow Wow June,” and “View,” by Kim Shuck
Kim Shuck’s relationship to the reader seems essential to this voice, even more than her relationship to language. It’s as if she’s speaking directly into our ears, sitting next to us on a bench and resuming an intense conversation we’ve been having on and off for years.
Read More »
Learn to Tune in to Your Own Signals
Learning to respect and appreciate yourself in an appropriate, measured, and compassionate way is an essential foundation of our ability to give to others.
Read More »
In Pieces — Sally Field’s Long Road
to Becoming Whole
"In Pieces" is eloquent, entertaining, and courageous. Although there are plenty of show business anecdotes, some tender and some quite funny, the real story is about a woman who had to rebuild herself after surviving a terribly damaging childhood.
Read More »
Early Menopause and Depressive Mood Disorder
Women who experience menopause at a young age, as studies show, seem to be at a slightly increased risk of developing depression.
Read More »
Poetry Sunday: “A Woman Walks into a Bar,”
by Sian Killingsworth
One strength of today’s poem, though, is that it works even for readers not familiar with that infamous case involving a Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious young woman behind a dumpster. Even before #metoo, sexual assaults like this are common enough, unfortunately, that readers will get the gist.
Read More »
When the Past Interferes with the Present
We fear old, buried feelings and fear their power. In this way, they are vampire-like in that the best way to defeat them is to expose them to the light.
Read More »
Kusama: Infinity — A Tale of Perseverance
(and Polka Dots)
Yayoi Kusama waited most of her life for the recognition, fame, and fortune that she sought when she first came to New York in 1958. Today, at age 89, she is the top-selling female artist in the world.
Read More »
Menopause is Never Old News
A frank discussion about making the right choices in the menopausal transition and the belief that management of symptoms is certainly possible are great life lessons that mothers can give their daughters.
Read More »
Poetry Sunday: “Goodbye, New York,”
by Deborah Garrison
This quotations expresses what I love about “Goodbye, New York” and Garrison’s other poems that use everyday language to make art.
Read More »
Two New Explosive Books Go Inside the Opioid Crisis
Harsh as the portraits presented by these two books are, they leave us with a much deeper understanding of the ills that are sickening our nation.
Read More »
PBS Brings Books to Life in September
As so many programs demonstrate, PBS has always had success in adapting literature for television.
Read More »
Lichen Planus and Menopause:
Diagnostic and Treatment Differences
I am writing because I feel that my symptoms were never taken seriously by my primary care health care provider. Because I was in “menopause,” I think my symptoms were attributed to hormonal change and not evaluated properly.
Read More »
Poetry Sunday: “Good Bones,” by Maggie Smith
This brief lyric poem captures a moment familiar to most parents experiencing dismay at the state of the world and the need to grapple with that in the context of having children they want to protect.
Read More »
Aging Can Teach Us To Leave Negativity Behind
As we age we are more likely to recognize the signs of a lost cause and move on.
Read More »
Glenn Close is Riveting (and Oscar-Worthy)
as ‘The Wife’
"The Wife" insists that the old saying "Behind every great man there's a great woman" ignores a more disturbing variation of the story. In this case, it would be more apt to say, "Behind every great man there's a far greater woman who has given up who she was and what she did to ensure his greatness."
Read More »
Rebellious Women: A Labor Day Toast
The bravery of our foremothers is too often unsung. On this, our national day off, won for us in 1894, we toast the heroines who took to the ramparts to help end the era of starvation wages and 60-hour workweeks.
Read More »
Poetry Sunday: “As Imperceptibly as Grief,”
by Emily Dickinson
I’ve been wanting to feature a poem by Emily Dickinson for some time, and this one seems perfect for this time of year.
Read More »