So my regular swim instructor and I approach fear the same way. Soldier up. Power through it. Pick up the sledgehammer and smash through that wall, baby. But this latest lesson was different. A woman walked down the pool deck and introduced herself as the substitute for my class. She reminded me of Olympic swimmers I’d seen on television, petiteContinue reading “Put the Sledgehammer Down and Step Away from Your Fear”
Monthly Archives: January 2014
Pimpology: Women at Market Price
That’s right, gentlemen. Step right up. In 48 lessons, you too can learn how to collect, manage, and sell your very own stable of prostitutes. You too can pimp your way to fame and fortune. Learn the game from this industry-recognized pimp. The American dream can be yours! I wish I were joking. But thisContinue reading “Pimpology: Women at Market Price”
An Ex-Mormon Meets the World
If you know any ex-Mormons, please be patient with us. A favorite Mormon creed is to be “in the world but not of it.” And to be “set apart” is to be formally blessed for a calling within the church. To be marked as different–as a Mormon–is synonymous with being chosen by god. At 20 I left all this behind.Continue reading “An Ex-Mormon Meets the World”
Truth Will Out: Stop Silencing and Start Talking
When I was 25 years old, I opened a conversation with my parents about the past. Or tried to. I asked my parents some difficult questions. I wanted to hear their own experience of our family history. I wanted to rip off the blood-crusted bandages, so we could all begin to heal. My family had operatedContinue reading “Truth Will Out: Stop Silencing and Start Talking”
Reblog Friday: The U.N. Calls out the Vatican
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/world/europe/un-sex-abuse-panel-questions-vatican-officials.html?ref=unitednations&_r=0 Whether you’re a devout Catholic or an agnostic humanist, it can only be good news when the United Nations calls the Vatican to task for shielding known sex offenders and, in some cases, obstructing justice. Child welfare trumps any organization’s instinct to protect its own. And religious freedom does not grant freedom to abuseContinue reading “Reblog Friday: The U.N. Calls out the Vatican”
How to Heal
“You’re really fighting the water there,” a woman said to me after I finished my practice swim today. Yup. A one-woman war against the volume of a swimming pool. Not going so well. “Try being one with the water–floating with it–instead of fighting it.” It would have sounded too New-Age-meets-Bruce-Lee if I hadn’t seen herContinue reading “How to Heal”
The Wisdom of Humility
Today an Iranian friend called me humble. Coming from her, it was a profound compliment. It warmed my soul. But is it true? What is humility anyway? And why do some cultures value it and others, like mine, scoff at it? All I can do is put in my two cents. And here’s what IContinue reading “The Wisdom of Humility”
How Do You Find Your Courage?
I just started swimming lessons at the local public pool. The bleachers are dotted with parents thumbing through their phones, and the pool foams with children in orange and green swim caps. In perfect formation, they churn the lanes (“You got quite a boil going there,” one teacher calls to the most energetic swimmer. “You trying to cookContinue reading “How Do You Find Your Courage?”
The Hazards–and Rewards–of Literature for the Feminist
Nothing like old love to remind you of who you have been, and who you have become. So I just picked up my favorite novel for yet another re-reading. At 17, when Mr. Hansen assigned All the King’s Men for my Honors English class, it was love at first sight. The first-person narrator, Jack Burden, ranks among AmericanContinue reading “The Hazards–and Rewards–of Literature for the Feminist”
Reblog Friday: Sally Kohn and Respect for Your Political Opponents
This Friday I raise my glass of Syrah to Sally Kohn. In her six-minute TED talk, she cuts to the heart of exactly what’s missing from American politics: compassion and respect in our political discourse. And liberals get as much as the blame as conservatives. As a progressive lesbian among heterosexual conservatives at FOX News, KohnContinue reading “Reblog Friday: Sally Kohn and Respect for Your Political Opponents”
The Trailer Park MFA 
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