A peaceful warrior on the body and body image, spirituality, politics, family and food
They have forgotten, because to remember would tumble them out of the beautiful Dream and force them to live down here with us, down here in the world.~ Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me My heart is breaking, I want to say, but that doesn’t really capture what’s happening. My whole body feels as if… Continue reading My Heart in Minneapolis (Part I)
Ugh. I wrote this post a few days ago, but I can't bring myself to finish it. See, a friend of ours is dying, and these piddling little reflections just don't seem important. This friend is a survival expert, but you'd never know it from his humble, self-deprecating nature. He tells this story of his… Continue reading Slow Fat Triathlete
It’s not a hot story anymore, hasn’t been for some time. But in some ways I’m still sifting through the detritus of last fall: those ten days in late September when we shared more -- our questions and confusions, our secrets about our sexual lives, frustrations, our insecurities, our private violations – than we had in the… Continue reading New Words: A Call for Linguistic Revolution
I cried when I told my mom I couldn't muster the energy to get the house ready for her visit. A week before, when the body aches and a sore throat seethed over me, I thought surely I would recover in time. Instead, I woke up each morning feeling worse than the night before, all… Continue reading Sick
Last week, I finally looked him up. It’s not as if I’d blocked it out all these years, but this time around, the memory was hitting me differently. I guess even given the resonance of the allegations, I wasn’t prepared for the triggering familiarity of Kavanaugh's tone. It didn’t take long to locate him on… Continue reading Brett Kavanaugh Reminds Me of College. God Help Us All.
What is the shape of this story in your mind? Is it a longer arc, one that unfolds over many years or decades? Is it more of a self-contained episode? Something in between? How would you describe your emotions right now as you think about beginning to tell this story? Briefly and without thinking too… Continue reading Project Wellspring: Questions for Reflection
After 15 years of thinking about it, I am finally starting work on a project to compile stories of people navigating the challenges of their reproductive lives, with the ultimate goal of publishing such a collection. I am aiming for a range of diverse perspectives and experiences. They run the gamut from unplanned pregnancy to… Continue reading Project Wellspring
(Inspired by Julia Shiplett's recent New York Times piece, "Reasons I May Be Eating Right Now"): It makes me feel guilty. It makes me feel superior. I judge them for being overweight. I am afraid of becoming overweight. I judge myself for being afraid of becoming overweight. I think health and nutrition are obvious and… Continue reading Please Don’t Tell Me About Your Diet. Here’s Why.
The writer Sark asks, what would you say if you wrote a letter to the world? My post questioning polarization could be one version of a letter to the world. But this is the sentiment that came to me unbidden when I revisited Sark's 1998 Bodacious Book of Succulence this week. Dear World, I am… Continue reading Dear World
Here is a list of some of the things I didn't do because they might cut into my freedom to work out, or things that I did do, but then fretted that they required sitting still for too long: singing in a choir evening classes trivia nights regular church attendance traveling and volunteering in the… Continue reading Body Politic II: Why I had to gain 10 pounds to finally become a writer
Writing for Chocolate 