Women's Voices For Change

Finding Your Zone: The Experience of Flow

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Finding something to do that puts you in the zone is a blessing. If you know what it is, do it, or do it more. If not, spend some time trying new things that might fit the bill.

Books

‘A Long Petal of the Sea’: Isabel Allende Writes of Revolution, Refugees, and Enduring Romance

By Alexandra MacAaron

If you are a fan of Isabel Allende, 'A Long Petal of the Sea' is a wonderful addition to her impressive catalogue. If you are new to her work, it's a worthy introduction.

Emotional Health · Health

Broken Heart Syndrome

By Holly S. Andersen, M.D.

A "broken heart" isn't a cliche: it's a medical diagnosis. Cardiologist Holly Andersen explains.

Poetry

Elizabeth Alexander: “Praise Song for the Day”

By Amanda Moore

The love Elizabeth Alexander envisions is complex but possible, and the poem is a strong reminder to be clear about all of our country’s legacies—sorrows as well as triumphs—while still singing a “praise song for walking forward in that light.”

Film & Television · Marriage & Life Partners · Relationships & Dating

In the Mood for Love:
Romantic Movies for Valentine’s Day

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

Living vicariously through others’ love affairs helps us remember the feeling of being transported and to re-experience the wild emotions (and even madness) that love drives us to.

Film & Television

The Oscars: Celebrating the Best in Film,
Except for Women and People of Color

By Alexandra MacAaron

If the audience was concerned that these observations (and admonishments) would continue throughout the evening, they were soon able to relax. There were surprisingly few political or social statements made by any of the winners.

Health

Ten Ways to Keep Your Heart Healthy

By Dr. Kirsten O. Healy

Research shows that up to 90 percent of heart disease can be prevented by changing one’s diet, exercising more, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Poetry

Lucille Clifton: “blessing the boats,” “homage to my hips,” and “won’t you celebrate with me”

By Rebecca Foust

These three Lucille Clifton poems are ones I love for their fresh, fierce, and sassy voice; compression; deceptively simple diction; rejection of punctuation and other conventions; humor and honesty; and above all, their joyous message of female empowerment, agency, and strength.

Emotional Health

Delay of Gratification: Too Much of a Good Thing

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

One of the sneakiest, most pernicious forms of self-deprivation involves timing. You don’t outright deny yourself the idea of self-loving action, but you put it off for later.

Film & Television

‘Taylor Swift: Miss Americana’ — A Pop Star Finds
A New Voice

By Alexandra MacAaron

'Miss Americana' offers a compelling and compassionate portrait of an extraordinarily talented woman who has grown up and remained remarkably unspoiled under the harshest possible spotlights.

Health

Avoid Infections While Flying During
the February Flu and Virus Season

By Patricia Yarberry Allen, M.D.

Viral pathogens are the most common cause of respiratory infection in travelers. And February is the peak season for influenza infections.

Poetry

Georgia Johnson Douglas: “Black Woman,” “Foredoom,” and “The Heart of a Woman”

By Rebecca Foust

In this week’s poems, the fixed forms and elevated diction sound archaic to contemporary ears, but their ideas were revolutionary in Georgia Douglas Johnson’s time and remain relevant today.

Food & Drink · Nutrition

Food Wars: The Struggle for Healthy Eating

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

The past ten years have seen an explosion of interest in and controversy about just what comprises healthy eating. As a result, new diets and regimes abound.

Theater

Playwright Kate Hamill Brings
Women’s Voices to the Stage

By Alexandra MacAaron

“I really felt like I wanted to create female-oriented classics for the stage. I’m not a director, so I didn’t want to direct some female Hamlet. What I wanted to do was create new works." — Kate Hamill

Health

Hair Loss in Women (Part 1):
Important Steps to Optimize Hair Health

By Dr. Minisha Sood

How can a woman optimize her scalp health and thereby her potential for hair growth while avoiding unnecessary hair loss?

Poetry

“Song for my Daughter” and “Song for my Son,”
by Emily Pérez

By Rebecca Foust

These poems show how a mother’s fear for her daughter is often the flip side of her fear for and of her son, of what he as a representative of his gender might do. How do we negotiate this very difficult terrain?

Emotional Health · Money & Careers

Retiring and Unretiring: Blessing or Curse?

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

A feeling of purpose is not a need that can be put to rest with retirement. Many people of retirement age are choosing to delay it or even go back into the workforce after retiring.

Film & Television

Fabulous Actresses Save the Messy Movie
‘Troop Zero’

By Alexandra MacAaron

If you can excuse a bit of cinematic aimlessness at the beginning, you will thoroughly enjoy the story of star-struck Christmas Flint and her band of space explorers.

Politics

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
and Understanding African-American History

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

“African-American history is not somehow separate than the American story. It is not the underside of the American story. It is central to the American story.” — President Barack Obama

Poetry

Interview with Molly Spencer about her new book, If the House

By Amanda Moore

I hope there’s an implicit argument in the book for all of us to value our interior lives without divorcing ourselves from the world. And I hope there’s an argument for living life with intention, for making yourself a life that feels like home to you.

Emotional Health

Knowing Your Value: When to Stay, When to Leave

By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.

If you don’t value yourself, you are vulnerable to staying too long in a bad situation.

Film & Television

‘Grace and Frankie’ Returns This Week

By Alexandra MacAaron

In an industry in which more is more — except when it comes to age, when less is definitely considered more bankable — 'Grace and Frankie's' continued success is something to celebrate.

Emotional Health · Health

Suicide Rate Increasing For Women In Middle Age

By Megan Riddle, M.D. Ph.D. MS

Suicide rates among U.S. women has climbed steadily over the past decade and has peaked among women age 45 to 64.

Poetry

“Anniversary Declaration,” by Amanda Moore

By Rebecca Foust

I had fun subverting the idea of an "Anniversary Declaration," which one might assume will be momentous and romantic, by addressing the dailiness and occasional strife that can accompany a long marriage, no matter how happy it is.