Here are some personal essays I’ve written and excursions I’ve taken into the lives of others.
THE BOSTON GLOBE
I was proud of my job. My kids were, too. What would I do when I lost it?
There isn’t much time to sulk or stew when you have little kids, and at some level I wanted to model for my children what a strong woman looks like, whether she is a newspaper editor or a stay-at-home mom.
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When it takes a village . . . and a day care . . . and a taekwondo instructor to raise a child
In good times and bad, families with young children need to piece together a network of caregivers. Here are four families and the people they rely on.
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The stranger who’s reading my mind
As my town reopens, I’m finding chitchat to be challenging. But one serial sticker slapper is speaking my language.
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Who’s a true New Englander, anyway?
I’ve lived in Massachusetts for a decade. Is that long enough to be a New Englander?
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The Big Reboot
These New Englanders are building dream careers in a job market turned upside down
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ROMPER
My 8-Year-Old Became The Ruler Of His Own Imaginary World This Year
Most people have never heard of Hoilemondei, but I am deeply familiar with its history, customs, and language. And I know its ruler well — he is my 8-year-old son, Marlow, who founded the country nearly a year ago, just days after COVID-19 shut down schools.
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THE NEW YORKER
The Feminist Legacy of the Baby-Sitters Club
Not long ago, I found a homemade flyer inside my mailbox. “Got a kid?” it read. “Need a break? Available on weekends and during school vacation. So call me maybe!”
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HEALTH
I Shared a ‘Real’ Parenting Photo on Social Media — And the Response I Got Shocked Me
When I posted an embarrassing photo of myself — nursing bra exposed — with Gloria Steinem, I had no idea it would touch a nerve in so many women.
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DAILY HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE
A funnies story: Introducing our new ‘cheerfully, subversively feminist’ comic strip, ‘Phoebe and Her Unicorn’
One of the pleasures of being an editor at a newspaper is getting mail from readers, but a recent request stood out from the rest.
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A poem for Richard Wilbur: Remembering the former U.S. poet laureate
There is indeed something comforting about the elegance and order of a Richard Wilbur poem, which, like the man himself, was composed of valid ingredients, measured well.
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This is not a lecture on the importance of supporting local news (but we do appreciate your support)
We live in an area that puts great value on “buying local,” from supporting our local farms to our local bookstores, yet too often local news gets lost in this movement.
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Nmotes on copy-editing
Every once in a while, a reader calls to ask me why our copy desk didn’t catch an obvious mistake. Here’s what I never say: What copy desk?
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MARIE CLAIRE
How Immigration Shaped These Female Founders and CEOs
BEING AN IMMIGRANT TODAY IS: “Harder and harder. It makes me think how lucky I was at the time to be accepted, to be allowed.” —Fashion designer Maria Cornejo
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Female Leaders, All From Families of Immigrants, Share Their Stories
TO ME, AMERICA MEANS: “A place where once-shiny things have tarnished and are in dire need of being made shiny again.” —Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Changing of the Guard
Women are working as uniformed correction officers in greater numbers than ever, and in many respects, they are changing the culture of the city’s jails.
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This Strange Thing Called Prom
Until recently, prom was a foreign concept for many of the 73 seniors at the International High School in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. (Also see video.)
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Awaiting God’s Decision
When the time came to replace a legendary Harlem pastor, the people of Canaan Baptist Church of Christ began a long and arduous journey.
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The Rainbow Runway
New York is home to at least a dozen small beauty pageants, among them Miss New York Chinese.
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Fortune’s Sisters
The three adopted girls shared a crib. Four years later, they play together in brownstone Brooklyn. Will the ties that bind them stay strong?
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The Editor of Laughs
Robert Mankoff, a cartoonist and editor behind those New Yorker cartoons, holds a self-proclaimed “undocumented” Ph.D. in psychology.
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Ariel and the Silver Car
The teenagers sent to the city’s juvenile detention centers are ever more likely to be girls. A Queens 16-year-old named for a Disney character is one of them.
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Island Girls
For Staten Island women, dating a Manhattan man is like having a long-distance relationship.
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Mom and Dad and All Their Baggage
For young people just beginning to live independently, parents are not always the easiest houseguests, especially when their stays are frequent or extended.
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