Humanity: Raw & Unfiltered
Four years later, Keith and I were married and living in New York City, and Jordan was no longer a “young bullock without blemish.” He still had his issues with school, and Mom and Dad transferred him from the suburban public high school the rest of us had attended to Read more
I. James Edward the Third entered the world like a limp bruise—purple against the sterile room—in a silence that hurt my ears from straining, stretching and stretching, taking with it his brain cells and future. Some of you will know what I mean. I’m sorry for that. The only thing Read more
I hate to imagine the times I made my mother cry behind the closed door. She wanted to see my face when she looked at her reflection, but I was on the other side of a two-way mirror. I didn’t want to look like her, after seeing her twist and Read more
In 1991, Demi Moore appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair seven months pregnant and completely nude. In this photograph, taken by Annie Leibovitz, Moore stands with one hand splayed over her breast, the other cradled under the mound of her large, round belly. Her skin, hair and makeup glow. Read more
The air smelled of exhaust, of snowfall, of woodfire stoves. Julie held herself stiff, breath appended in her lungs, as she raced into the swirl of snowfall, the shavings sharp and virgin as diamonds, the shavings lashing the air, as the old Ford spat and chugged, coughed and spat and Read more
Nearly eight years after my father’s death, I received a phone call from the nurse I had hired at the end of his life. Jen was a kind and compassionate person, and she had been at his side when he passed away. Because of her other commitments, she was unable Read more
Summer meant grandma’s 80’s brown conversion van. Brown carpet, brown velvet curtains, semi-sheer accordion blinds and dimpled beige leather seats and a third row, pulled at the rusts into a bed. A speaker system more elaborate than the dash and a giant bread cupboard that actually stored a mini box TV. Read more
My delight at the ultrasound tech’s declaration, “It’s a girl,” was immediately followed by a heaviness and fear I associated with that specific gender reveal: the food thing. I did not feel this panic a year ago when the sex of my son was announced. Food things were girl things. Read more