It’s a challenging time to be a freelance journalist. Last month, BuzzFeed announced it was closing its news division and laying off close to 200 people. And this is no anomaly: Magazines and newspapers have been suffering a slow death for years. One day in the near future, I...
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Cancer Isn’t a Battle
We all like to think we have some control over our lives. Maybe that's why "cancer battle" language is so widespread in popular culture....
Beauty in the Ordinary
Like a bear in winter, I’ve been in a version of hibernation these days. It’s as if Ingrid Michaelson is seeing directly into my soul with her song “Keep Breathing,” which includes the lyrics: “I want to change the world. Instead, I sleep.” Mastering sloth mode (as a friend...
Slogging Toward 2023 With Some Thoughts on Writing
I’m in a weird phase of my writing life. It’s not that what I’m writing is weird (though admittedly sometimes I have strange ideas). It’s more that my focus is all over the place. I’ve always wanted to write a book. When I started blogging in 2014, I planned...
The Fledgling Stage
On a family vacation this summer, we were out for an evening stroll when my husband saw a baby bird hopping along the sidewalk. The bird looked to be in rough shape, at least to our untrained eyes. Its brown feathers were ragged and patchy, its movements clumsy and...