I recently escaped to the tropics with my husband, Doug, for some sunshine and sand. I was excited to have a brief respite from my work...

When I was five, my heaven was a tiny dusty theater at Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey. My father taught music history there....

Picture me at 22 years old, bright eyed with big hair and a big smile to match. I strode the campus of my college, Tufts University, with...

Sarah Polley’s Women Talking is a beautiful ensemble piece, in which women gather to discuss how to handle a violent crisis. The...

When I was four years old, an angel left me my very own Christmas tree. I lay on a soft twin bed, tucked in the corner of a wood-paneled...

Somehow, I have become an activist. This was never my intent. All I ever planned was to write my memoir. I did not intend to be a public...

I have been a patient and a doctor, on both sides of the bed. I have sat with injured people, processing their trauma. I have also been...

At the end of a weary work week, I sprawled on the couch ready to watch a movie. I wanted to be entertained by someone else’s problems...

(Part 5 in the series Choosing More Surgery) I spoke to a psychic two weeks before my recent operations. The psychic is a friend, an...

(Part 4 in the series Choosing More Surgery) I have always loved “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” I identify with Dorothy in The Wizard of...

(This is Part 3 in the series "Choosing More Surgery." See here for Part 1 and here for Part 2) “How are you doing today?” asked my...

(For Part I of this series, click here) “You need to make friends with it,” advised my surgeon. She smiled at me, her long straight...

“Your test results were negative.” This call was welcome news from my doctor, but also surprising. I had seen Dr. Jones (not his real...

A year ago, I sat eating lunch with my new friend, Betsy. We met when our kids performed in high school theater together. We both...

(Note: This post was republished with permission from tinybuddha.com. You can find the original post here: https://tinybuddha.com/blog/be...

“I heard some other girls talking about her. They said, ‘Why does she wear short sleeve shirts when she is scarred like that? I felt bad."

Tension burns a different fire inside me now. I need to speak the truth for me and for my brother. I survived my childhood; he did not.

We are all learning a lesson in the value of delaying gratification in this year of COVID. This ability could save all our lives.

When you think of a surgeon, what comes to mind? A man striding in his white coat, barking imperiously, staff trailing behind? A...

Time and time again, the villain winds up being burned. Doug and I grin at each other and hoot, “Just another maladjusted burn victim!"