Quick links to my favorite stories
Welcome to my bright corner of the internet. That’s me to the left, hoping the camera doesn’t steal my soul. (Spinning fast helps.)
This TOC will help you find the topics that interest you. These are not necessarily my most popular stories. But they are the ones that I put…
A letter to my daughter and other young artists
Dear Charlotte,
I read your poem yesterday. My first reaction was to swell with pride. How such beauty and pain could spring forth from a heart untouched by life’s triumphs and tragedies. You are an old soul.
But my second reaction was fear. Fear that you are embarking on a…
The truth is way scarier than the movie
Some of the scariest films in history terrify us because they contain a kernel of truth. The following classic films may celebrate legendary monsters, but if you peel back the storylines…you will find some real-life phenomena.
Sperm counts have dropped by 50% in the last forty years. So why aren’t men doing anything about it?
A plastic cup does not make most men feel sexy. At least Marc* was less than enthused when his nurse handed him one at his fertility appointment.
Days earlier, Marc filled out the required questionnaire asking him personal questions ranging from his family’s fertility history to the frequency of his…
Infatuations make us feel good…until they don't.
I can hear the breathless giddiness in Samantha* voice as soon as she speaks. Samantha has another "crush." And by crush, I mean she adores someone who will never return her affections.
Over the following months, she talks about her crush incessantly. I gently point out to her that infatuations…
Most experts say no if it is narcissistic abuse. Here’s why.
“Bored reading material for a bunch of uneducated idiots.”
That is what J. Edgar* called my writing. (I was more offended by “the uneducated idiots” accusation. My readers are brilliant.)
I didn’t respond to his insult. I could have cracked jokes like I always do. Since most of my “readers”…
The real Moby Dick was more menacing than Melville's whale
Humans have long been dependent on nature's resources. In the nineteenth century, that one precious commodity was whale oil.
Whale oil was essential to making soaps, leather, lubricate machinery, and most importantly, light lamps throughout the world. Whales even changed fashion. …
Is having a baby before marriage the right choice for you?
I had lunch recently with my friend Sarah* when the conversation went off the rails. Or at least to a third rail. Sarah informed me that she plans to get pregnant with the next guy she dates. …
He seduced the art world with "the nastiest smear of paint."
It couldn't have been easy for Mrs. Matisse. She got gussied up in her best dress, wore an extravagant hat, and kept her head turned in a classical pose for hour upon hour.
And what did she get for her efforts? A green nose.
Her embarrassment did not stop there…
Here are a few tips on how to write an epic breakup letter.
My friend Beth* called me on Sunday with a request I have got before — she needed help writing her breakup text to Pete.* I say "help," but I rewrote the whole damn thing. (Beth, you will thank me later for red penning your maudlin comparison to you as Penelope…
