We saved precious little of my mother’s writing. To the best of my knowledge, neither notes nor letters nor even a grocery list remains. We have my father’s correspondence to… Read more

When I was about eight years old I had a very high fever that caused hallucinations through the night. I remember lying in my bed in the room shared with… Read more

For a recent Cognitive Psychology course at Smith College I assigned a reading by Psychologist Daniel Levitin describing a case study from his own life— a former colleague who began… Read more

The day after my mother’s funeral I awoke to a gigantic hole in the sky.  Relief should have emerged with the dawn—at least according to the prediction of a friend’s… Read more

I was the family outlier, a daydreamer and a romantic, the one with the thinnest skin whose tendency to upset easily was tested heartily and often. I found solace in… Read more

I’ve often wondered if the beginning of human life resembles a scene from the stop-motion animated classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. As Santa’s reindeer-driven sleigh soars over rooftops on Christmas… Read more

In May 2015, along with three million other viewers, I watched the series finale of Mad Men. The show’s director delivered fans a rare happy ending; a montage of future… Read more

One lesson I’ve learned from writing this blog is that when life gives you lemonade, enjoy it while it’s fresh. Cleaning out my father’s basement recently I found a long-lost… Read more