Mojo Mom book club: Special Topics in Calamity Physics

Most book clubs are a balance between discussing the assigned book and socializing. What do you do if you read a book you really need to discuss with friends, but you aren't in a book club? If you are me, you turn to your online friends.

Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics has worked its way into my brain like no other novel I've read in a long time. I had my issues with the book, as I wrote about in my thorough review Writing the review wasn't enough to get the book out of my mind. If you sift through the verbiage, at the heart of the novel is a mystery that remains unsolved--who killed Hannah Schneider?

If I were Stephen Colbert, this is where I would turn to a new camera, take off my glasses, stare intently and say "Unsolved...or is it?" The beauty of STCP is that the core of the mystery is unarticulated by Blue, the narrator, but solvable by the reader. Or several readers putting their heads together. Yesterday I read an article about Marisha Pessl in The New York Times [Times Select] in which she said that she was inspired by the unreliable narrator in Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess."

I had never read the poem, so I looked it up and reading it gave me more food for thought. It's as though I can finally appreciate all the literary ideas that my AP English teacher, Mr. Frietag, tried to get us interested in 20 years ago. In our senior year of high school we read Daisy Miller by Henry James, and Mr. Frietag tried to get us to understand the symbolism and concrete detail that led to the conclusion that Daisy was innocent, though uncultured. Back then I could not grasp the concept of reading a book in any way other than a literal interpretation (too many formulaic, cut-and-dried Nancy Drew books in my background, I am afraid). But now I am thrilled to find a book that challenges the reader to put together the pieces that the book's narrator can't asseble for herself.

If you are going to read Special Topics in Calamity Physics I encourage you to go in knowing as little about it as possible. To facilitate a spoiler-iffic book club discussion for those who have read it, I will post my own hypothesis in the comments section. I have not sought out any other reader dicussion forums or input prior to writing this, though I may link to other discussions after I've put down my own initial ideas.

If we get a good discussion going, perhaps I can entice Marisha Pessl to do an interview for The Mojo Mom Podcast.

So go read the book and please post your reactions and ideas in the comments section. (I know it's hardcover but aren't you worth it?) Let's use this discussion to focus on figuring out what really happened, rather than our reviews. Maybe together we can figure out what really happened between Blue, Hannah, and Gareth.

Creating my dream job

Sometimes it's easy to get discouraged as an author trying to make it in the world--especially as one of the vast majority of authors who have to shout to get heard by the media, to build their own platforms, and to work to earn credibility. I've been working for several years on all this and I haven't reached my big "breakthrough" yet. (Like all authors except Jonathan Franzen, I am ready for Oprah to call!) But, in the meantime, I realize that in many ways I have created my dream job. I love books. I adore books. Mostly nonfiction, much to my surprise. The truth seems so vast and un-knowable that it takes a special work of fiction to peel me away from the real world.

In writing Mojo Mom I referenced about 100 books and read even more. And now that I am between writing projects, I still read tons of books. My reviews, which I wrote for my own enjoyment and to share with my readers, have started to get attention. I am getting advance galleys sent to me for review! This feels like a wonderful break all by itself. I can't review every book I read, but I am getting into the groove. I feel like I am back in college, but this time I am creating my own curriculum and truly following my interests for their own reward.

I can feel a little ADD sometimes, reading several books at once, but after all, we took four classes at once in college, so what's the problem? Here's what's on my "active" bookshelf right now:

Hothouse Kids: The Dilemma of the Gifted Child by Alissa Quart

I blogged about Alissa Quart's Atlantic article about educational toys, and now I am following up by reading her book about rushed kids. Quart was on The Diane Rehm Show today and I have her interview loaded on my iPod.

The Second Half of Life: Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom by Angeles Arrien

Arrien has an uncanny ability to connect with true wisdom. The book says, "When you find the courage to change at mid-life, a miracle happens. Your character is opened, deepened, strenghtened, softened. You return to your soul's highest values. You are now prepared to create your legacy: an imprint of your dream for our world." Arrien makes me want to jump in and look forward to getting older and wiser.

The Mother Knot by Jane Lazarre

Lazarre exploded the myth of the Good Mother in her 1976 memoir. It seems that each generation needs to learn this anew for ourselves, but Lazarre's feelings ring uncannily true in the era of Perfect Madness. Lazarre's honesty is scorching, startling. She struggled with some truly dark feelings. Her book is not for everyone, and is not particularly suited to my taste, but I have to admire her.

The Hidden Feelings of Motherhood: Coping with Mothering Stress, Depression, and Burnout by Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Ph. D.

This is a fanastic resource that covers many topics well. It is one of the few books that addresses life as an adult survivor of abuse in the context of motherhood.

The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud

I couldn't resist checking out this novel, about Brown graduates in their thirties making their way in New York. I went to Brown, and I didn't relate to the hipster New York kids then, and I'll see if I relate to them 15 years later.

And still ricocheting in my brain two weeks after wolfing it down is Special Topics in Calamity Physics. I am not even in a book club right now and I so want to discuss this one! My plan is to write another blog posting about it, with my spoilers included in the comments section. Maybe we can get an online discussion going.

Emmy report & new kind of TiVO moment

The Emmys were worth watching last night for three brief, shining moments:

• The Office won! If you aren't watching this show yet, you are missing out on the best comedy in years. You may need to watch 2 or 3 episodes to get into its dry humor and realize how brilliant it is. (I never could get into the British version. Trust me and give the American version a try.) Season 2 is about to come out on DVD. You can rent or buy it and catch up a bit before the premiere on Sept. 21st. Watch a few episodes and the season finale Casino Night so you can be ready for the JAM (Jim & Pam) resolution.

• The Daily Show won. I love Jon Stewart. I've met one of the show's writers before, and there he was on stage. Yay Kevin Bleyer!

• The Colbert Report lost. Which is tragic, because it deserved to win in the category that didn't pit it against The Daily Show. But it was worth it to see Stephen Colbert break down after losing to Barry Manilow. (Stewart & Colbert were the only presenters who had any chemistry.)

The Emmys were strange for several reasons:

• What is this, 1976? I got a kick out of seeing the three original Charlie's Angels together again. But it reminded me that these women were popular when I was in the third grade! Half the actors in the audience weren't even born when Charlie's Angels was on. The long Aaron Spelling tribute was overdone. The Dick Clark tribute was heartfelt and it was nice to see him get recognized and enjoy it. But overall, there were many more reminiscent clips than there needed to be. I see that we're catering to Boomer nostalgia here, but it's time to move forward, people. It didn't help that Lost wasn't nominated at all and Grey's Anatomy didn't win anything. The whole Emmy effort seemed outmoded and passe this year. In an era of fantastic TV, how can they give out such lame awards? I am sure Blythe Danner is a terrific actress, but her performance on the cancelled Showtime show Huff feels irrelevant next to the vibrant, ongoing, yet unawarded performances by Chandra Wison and Sandra Oh on Grey's Anatomy. (And it's best I don't get started on Tony Shaloub beating out Steve Carell.)

• Did anyone else notice the distracting background graphics that had animations that looked like the Wicked Witch of the West flying around?

• Did anyone else notice that the clips they showed of winners were absolutely awful? You have an Emmy-winning show or performance and you can't find 8 seconds of good material to put up? Someone was really lazy in that effort.

And finally, I had a new kind of TiVO moment watching the show. The ceremony was so long, and mostly boring with brief flashes of entertainment, that I actually felt sorry for the actors who had to show up in person and experience the entire three hours live. (Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, because if I were offered Emmy tickets I'd be there in a heartbeat.) I let the show get ahead of me on TiVO, then I'd watch until I was caught up in real time, then I'd go away for a half hour and come back again. My point here is that many of the bits were so deadly boring that I'd never sit through this show if I had to watch all of it. The networks are worried about viewers fast-forwarding through commercials, but I found TiVO essential for enduring their bloated program itself.

One commercial did stop my TiVO fast forwarding in its tracks--the Discover card ad with the animated scissors hopping around like puppies, cutting up other credit cards. Well done.

School Un-Shopping

One thing that happened over the summer is that our house began to look like a dorm room on a Saturday morning. Laundry piling up, us sleeping in until late morning, books and newspapers piling up. We were off our routines, to say the least. The school day gives structure to all of us, not just my daughter.

So now that school is back in session, we have done the requried school shopping, just for school supplies and one new pair of non-stinky shoes. [Once shoes go to day camp, they become unfit for civilization. It's fine, it's part of the deal, but you really can't fudge this one. Her summer shoes practically radiate a green stink cloud. And tomorrow they're going in the trash!]

We don't really have to shop for new school clothes yet, since it's still 90 degrees here in North Carolina. I am trying hard to resist the temptation to do more school shopping until we do some serious Un-Shopping first.

Un-Shopping means catching up on the regular laundry, of course, and pulling out clothes that no longer fit. Our school yard sale is in a couple of weeks and that will give us a good home for those clothes we've outgrown. Un-Shopping also means going through my closet and washing the pile of "hand wash only" clothes that have accumulated all summer. A trip to the dry cleaners is also in order. I think I'll feel like I have a whole new wardrobe once I get everything back in rotation.

There are dirty laundry days when I open my bureau drawers and feel like I don't have anything to wear, even though there are clothes in the dresser. I'll see if I have the courage to say goodbye to the bottom-of-the-drawer remainders. I have a hard time letting go of things like this, but maybe I can catch the "back to school" seasonal momentum to make positive changes.

Thinking about all this makes me realize how much we use shopping as a distraction, entertainment, and reward, rather than just to buy things we really need. Shopping gives us that slot machine payoff high. For the next month, at least, I'm going to try to be as happy that my favorite shirt is clean and wearable as I would be about buying something new.

Back to life, back to reality

Look up "burnout" in the dictionary and you may just find a picture of a Mom during the last week of summer "break." School starts tomorrow for us, and it is rescuing my working career. For the last week, my daughter didn't have any scheduled activities, and I couldn't get any work done. (I didn't even get to blog last week, which I really missed.) I have ended up feeling pretty angry at our traditional, agriculturally-derived school calendar. Sign us up for year-round school! The three-month break means that parents have to scramble to assemble a patchwork quilt of activities to cover the working day. Many of the summer activities were fun, but when my daughter went to her second-grade open house on Friday, I could see just how much she'd missed her class.

What makes me angry rather than sentimental about summer break, is that it's pretty clear that someone's work day is going to be compromised during the summer. In many two-parent families, that will be Mom. In single-parent families, the need for work-day coverage is even greater.

Our family had some wonderful travels during the summer, but three weeks off would have been enough for me. As the next phase of my work evolves with the founding of the Mojo Center for Women's Leadership, the summer schedule bonks me in the forehead as one impediment of women's career progress.

Look for more postings to the Mojo Blog this week. We're back in business!

Newest way to waste $75!

Okay, now I've heard everything. Straight from The New York Times Style Page, we're being told that "eyebrows as furry as tufted caterpillars" are all the rage this fall. For those women unfortunate enough to have overplucked, "eyebrow extensions" can be had for $75 to $250.

Has The Onion's RSS feed accidentally made it into the Times?

What's next, pubic hair wigs to cover up the results of one' Brazilian bikini wax, which is, like, so two weeks ago?

This article is an excellent motivation for each of us to make a commitment today to donate $75 to $250 to charity.

Gwyneth Paltrow has her Mojo back

I loved the description Gwenyth Paltrow gave about getting her acting Mojo back, as reported by CNN.com:

"For a long time, I thought, 'I've done it. I've done what I wanted to do. I'm not interested. I just want to be home with my family,"' the 33-year-old actress tells Harper's Bazaar in its September issue, on newsstands Tuesday.

"I had no spark for work, but I feel the feeling back. And I'm excited about the prospect. I want to do something kind of fun. I don't want to do anything depressing or mad. I want to do a really great, funny, weird character."

You go, Gwyneth!

Article: Is Childhood Dangerous?

Is Childhood Dangerous? is one of the best brief analyses I've read of how parenting has become increasingly anxious over the past generation. I am currently working on my next book, which will help parents distinguish between unwarranted anxiety and the issues they should be focusing on. Child safety is an adult responsibility, but it's not the stereotypical "stranger jumping out of the bushes" that we should be primarily worried about. The odds of a stranger abduction are about 1 in a million, but the odds of a child experiencing any type of sexual abuse are roughly 1 in 5 for girls and boys. Our attention needs to be focused proportional to the risk. Darkness2Light.org provides a powerful resource for more information on this topic, and my favorite book written for parents is Protecting the Gift by Gavin de Becker.

What I liked about Is Childhood Dangerous? is that it explores the costs and risks associated with overprotecting our children. When is the appropriate time to let our kids walk to school or roam our neighborhood on their own? How can we foster their development and independence within appropriate limits? By the time our kids leave home, they need to be able to navigate the world on their own without beind tied to "helicopter parents" via their cellphone. This is the most challenging issue for me to think about as a parent and an author giving advice to other families. How can we give our kids the life experience they need to grow into independent adults while also keeping them protected as kids? There is an 18-year long continuum here to traverse. I love the expression "Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions." (Original author unknown, as far as I have found.) That's the paradox of parenting, especially when it come to teenagers: creating a balance that gives our kids enough room to make some bad decisions, while trying to ensure that even those bad decisions don't put them at risk major trauma when it comes to driving, drugs and alcohol, dating decisions, and other choices and rites of passage.

Book Review: Special Topics in Calamity Physics

An ocean of words, so much left unsaid (****)

Part of me is tempted to give Special Topics in Calamity Physics 3 stars, but that would give the impression that I found it mediocre and passionless. On the contrary, part of me loved the book to 5 stars, but the excessive, distracting loquatiousness of narrator's expression nearly drove me to distraction. So my mathematical reducion will stay at 4 stars, with reservations explained. By Chapter 8 I was still not engaged enough to convince me that I was going to actually read the whole book. But by the end I stayed awake reading as late as I could one night, and stole away enough time the next day to finish it. Reading this story was like running a reverse marathon that started out as a meandering stroll and ended in a sprint.

And when I say marathon, I mean marathon. Most reviewers have noted the length of the book, weighing in at over 500 pages. Individual sentences stretched on and on with strange metaphors, literary allusions and references, and parenthetical comments galore. Much of it was dense academic blathering--in character, to be sure, but still very annoying to read. Oftentimes I'd find myself strugging with a long sentence, breathlessly awaiting a period like a drowing person begging for someone to throw her a life preserver. If you can get through this style of writing, there is a compelling story waiting to be decoded, but this book won't be for everyone. Though I felt like I was cheating a bit, after the first half of the story I gave myself permission to give up on close textual analysis and read like a skipping stone. The author's pacing picked up in the later stages of the book as well, but as a reader I did make a conscious choice to step in as an editor.

If you still think you'd enjoy the book, I'd say stop reading the reviews and just go read it. I'll say a few more things without being too spoiler-ish. After reading narrator Blue's interpretation of events, I am dying to talk to other people who have read the book to find out what they think really happened. Blue unleashes a torrent of thoughts on her readers, but they are the analyses of an incredibly erudite 16-year-old who lived within the heart of a very tangled web. In other words, what is left unsaid in the story is almost as compelling as the picture that Blue assembles as her own understanding. Blue is an unreliable narrator, not in the sense that she is trying to deceive the reader, but rather that there is only so much truth she can piece together and face. The true brilliance of Marisha Pessl's writing is that she provides enough information to allow the reader to come to some very different conclusions than Blue, based on Blue's first-person narrative.

Maddeningly, though, I came looking for a story, and I don't have time to immerse myself in solving a dense puzzle. Pessl ends the book with a "Final Exam" that stands in for the last chapter. It was a choice hailed by many critics, but it left me feeling hollow and put out. The "testing" of the reader occurs throughout the book, in ways amusing and annoying. Recurring words and images (variations of the word "oily" and references to coins and stillettos) felt clunky, rather than enlightening. Pessl has created a website for the book that would most likely yield additional clues if one would search diligently for the secrets. But much as I love the TV show "Lost," but have no interest in the ongoing "Lost Experience" on the web, I am resigned to accepting that I may never unravel the knot that still lies at the heart of "Special Topics in Calamity Physics." Writing a master's thesis on Nabokov and Hitchcock would be a good place to start, but I think we'd all agree that's asking a great deal of one's readers.

Loving the ClustrMaps

I am loving the ClustrMaps feature here on the Mojo Mom blog. Seeing readers' dots pop up all over the world, and expanding in size, has been very motivating. Total numbers don't matter so much. Knowing that I can connect with readers on 6 continents does.

Today for the first time I saw a dot light up on what appears to be Guam--my Pacific Island birthplace. So here's a big shout-out to Guam. I'd be happy to send a book to the first person to email me at amy@mojomom.com with a Guamanian mailing address.

Thanks to everybody for reading my blog and allowing me to see a grassroots network growing blade by blade!

7-Year Itch for Mothering?

As the fun of summer fades, yet the excitement of back-to-school is not yet upon us, I find myself asking: is there a 7-year-itch for motherhood? I remember feeling burned out as the Mom of a toddler, and now I am caught in a new wave of exhaustion and doubt. I can't tell right now whether it's just summer burnout or part of a larger pattern. I think it may be linked to the length of my tenure as a Mom. My daughter is finding new and exciting ways to test my patience these days. I swear that 6 1/2 is a mini-preview of what it will like to have a teenager. Suddenly there is "attitude." Eye-rolling. Mom is the dumbest person ever. Somehow at this halfway point toward teenagerhood (really? already?) I am getting a glimpse of conflicts to come. She's teaching me that she needs strong limits. Much like our headstrong dog, a Shiba Inu, if she feels that there is not a leader in the house she'll fill the role herself. (No joking, two years of owner-puppy training was excellent preparation for becoming a parent.)

What is frustrating is that when my daughter was a baby and toddler I felt almost eternally patient, in comparison to my currrent state of frayed nerves, yet in the present day I am getting little karmic credit for all the care I gave in those early years. (Karmic credit in the bank of the universe, maybe, but not in my girl's mind!) I can see how mothers end up thinking and saying "After all I've done for you, this is the thanks I get?" I just never thought I'd be one of them.

I recently exchanged notes with Karen Maezen Miller, author of Momma Zen, and I'll have her on the podcast this fall. She reminded me that I myself said that we don't really have a choice but to walk the spiritual path of motherhood. We can quit or opt out of many of life's challenges, but this one requires that we keep growing, stretching. I was a very headstrong little girl myself, and I've been given a child who is surely teaching me many lessons I need to know...but would rather take a break from now and then!

What ages have you found most challenging? Is there a common point where the responsibility piles up and it's natural to wonder, "Did I really sign up for all this?" And when that happens, how can we recharge?

"Covering" for infertility

As a great companion to the Glamour feature about being Infertile in a Baby-Crazed World, I recommend the Literary Mama Op-Ed Covering Up by Robin Aronson. She addresses the cultural norm of natural pregnancy and the subtle stigmas associated with fertility treatment, stating that "And make no mistake, if you're straight and in a stable partnership, there is 'a real way' to get pregnant...." Aronson describes her ambivalent feelings about her own covering up of her fertility treatments, in response to thoughtlessly probing questions about how her twins came about.

You peel the cultural onion of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood, and there always seems to be another layer inside.

Helen Kirwan-Taylor has lost her Mojo

Helen Kirwan-Taylor's piece about how boring motherhood really is worked its way into my brain. Last night I dreamed about my own daughter's birthday party and today I woke up thinking about this blog posting. In my dream, I showed up for my daughter's party totally unprepared, and the other mothers had organized it for me down to the last detail. They were disapproving of my slacking off, but they had saved the day for me.

I've tried to stay open-minded about Kirwan-Taylor's missive. It's healthy to vent once in a while, but what worries me is that she isn't describing a bad day or a bad week, but a dissatisfaction with the whole enterprise. To be fair to her, she sounds like she's not different than many Dads, who can remain minimally interested in their kids without drawing a lot of attention to themselves. But taking on the taboo against dissing motherhood in such a public way, Kirwan-Taylor must have known she was throwing a Molotov cocktail into the parenting blogosphere.

I can only conclude that Kirwan-Taylor has lost her mojo. It concerns me that she is rarely "present" as she moves through her mothering duties. In her own words, Kirwan-Taylor talks about doing anything she can to avoid being with her kids (her quotes are in italics):

To be honest, I spent much of the early years of my children's lives in a workaholic frenzy because the thought of spending time with them was more stressful than any journalistic assignment I could imagine.

"Workaholic frenzy" just about sums up her addiction to avoidance.

While all my girlfriends were dropping important careers and occupying their afternoons with cake baking, I was begging the nanny to stay on, at least until she had read my two a bedtime story. What kind of mother hates reading bedtime stories? A bad mother, that's who, and a mother who is bored rigid by her children.

You don't have to stay at home full time to be an involved mother. It is necessary to truly check in and make a connection--on a daily basis!!--when you are with your kids.

I spent two hours texting friends throughout a screening of Pirates Of The Caribbean the other day.

I'll admit that I've fallen asleep in kids' movies before, but spending the whole time text messaging is true checking out.

All those glossy magazine spreads showing celebrity mothers looking serene at home with their children serve only to make women feel inadequate.

I agree with this thought, but the solution is to find your own way of doing it, hopefully a way that allows for true connection with your kids.

Psychotherapist Kati St Clair has listened to the frustrations of scores of mothers. 'Women now feel great pressure to enjoy their children at all times,' she says. 'The truth is, a lot of it is plain tedium. It's very unlikely that a mother doesn't love her child, but it can be very dull. Still, it takes a brave woman to admit that.'

Yes, apects of mothering can be dull, but that's not an excuse to check out permanently. There has to be something that connects parents and kids. There must be some common ground that can be agreed on, especially with 10 and 12 year old kids. It's not like she's still in the diaper-changing stage.

They stopped asking me to take them to the park (how tedious) years ago. But now when I try to entertain them and say: 'Why don't we get out the Monopoly board?' they simply look at me woefully and sigh: 'Don't bother, Mum, you'll just get bored.'

I know her sons have defended their Mom, but it's sad to hear that they've given up on the possibility of having fun with her.

I don't think Kirwan-Taylor is unique or even that unusual. In America, at least, I feel like many of us are sleepwalking through life. Mindless TV watching, alcohol, drugs, internet shopping, workaholism, email, cell phones, text messaging--we have so many ways to distract ourselves. In the meantime life passes us by. I know this is a strange source of wisdom, but I keep thinking of Yoda saying about Luke Skywalker, "Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing." We're more connected to our electronic devices than our families. I think it's important to keep in mind Judy Stadtman Tucker's wise words: motherhood is not a job, it's a relationship. We can't just go through the motions and expect our family relationships to thrive.

As for Helen Kirwan-Taylor, I'd recommend two things for her. First, a meditation class to teach her to exist in the present and stop running away from life as it unfolds before her. (If having a quiet mind present in the moment is too scary and painful, maybe therapy could help find out what she's really running away from.) Second, I'd recommend that she, her husband and sons sit down and plan a family vacation they can all get excited about. They should leave all their cell phones etc. behind and give themselves a chance to have fun together.

Here's the essential truth that Kirwan-Taylor missed: It's precisely because motherhood is so challenging that it's key to find ways to have fun by ourselves and with our families. Spacing out and avoidance won't cut it in the long run.

On that note, I'd better practice what I preach. I'm turning off my laptop and heading out to the lake.

Blogging during the dog days of summer

On Monday I wrote about Helen Kirwan-Taylor's controversial article "Sorry, but my children bore me to death!" and I keep thinking about my response. It was lukewarm and level-headed to the point of being boring. Kirwan-Taylor's essay has gotten stuck in my brain, and I've thought of a more detailed critique, which I'll write about in my next post. What I didn't mention on Monday is that I am on vacation right now with my whole family (27 of us!) hanging out at a beautiful lake in northern Michigan. So I am having a lot of fun, and getting a much-needed chance to truly chill out. It was a lot easier to brush off Kirwan-Taylor than to get sucked into her drama.

Coincidentally, as I was preparing to start writing this posting, I was catching up on Broadsheet, and Lynn Harris had this to say about the story of a Charlotte, NC woman who is selling advertising space on her toddler son's clothing:

"Still, for all my crankiness, I just don't know. More than anything else, BuyJake.com just makes me want to roll my eyes, shrug my shoulders and say, 'Ya know, people are cuckoo.' But maybe that's because when the heat index is 187 degrees, shaking a fist is too much to ask."

It made me feel better to know that I'm not the only one who felt like the dog days of summer are no time to get worked up about people's crazy, quirky behavior. Especially when I could be swimming in my favorite lake instead.

Okay, my follow-up to Kirwan-Taylor is coming, so that I can at least stop thinking about it!

Mojo Mom in Glamour

I feel very fortunate to have been inteviewed for a feature article in the September issue of Glamour. The issue should hit the news stands in a couple of days, but you can read the piece online right now. Editor Lynn Harris takes a thorough look at what it's like to be Infertile in a baby-crazed world. When I was interviewed, I hadn't realized that Lynn had experienced infertility and loss personally. Her perspecitve, in addition to her solid research and reporting, makes the article resonate with true thoughtfulness.

Lynn also contributes to the women-penned group blog Broadsheet on Salon.com, one of first stops on my daily visits to the blogosphere.