Category Archives: Guest writer

By Gina Chirichella  My favorite winter activity has always been ice skating. Actually, at this stage of my life, it’s one of the few outdoor winter activities that I still partake in. Now that the kids are grown, I no … Continue reading →

By Iryna Mroz When I was about nine years old, I made a shocking discovery: pigs can swim. Not that anyone had bothered to tell me this crucial piece of information before I risked my life for them. We lived … Continue reading →

By Faith Ellestad In years past, far past, my husband used to refer to me, I assume affectionately, as Pollyanna. I was always in search of ways to make things better, or at least more cheerful.  Yes, I looked on … Continue reading →

By Janet Manders The day started like most others. Recently retired, I had learned to enjoy sliding into and savoring mornings. A huge difference from what I had experienced in prior years as a working mom. For the bulk of … Continue reading →

By Loriann Knapton We all have gifts. Natural talents that make each one of us unique.  For example, some folks are athletic, setting records that put them on top of podiums, while others can solve complicated math equations. Some work … Continue reading →

By Marlene Samuels High school in our new American community was, for me, a stress-filled experience that fueled my debilitating sense of dread every school-day morning. I was the proverbial “duck out of water”,  the girl who did not fit … Continue reading →

by Donald A. Ranard Photos by Ray Oram, a British volunteer who taught English with the author at the lycée. I met the German at the night market in Chiang Mai. The northern Thai city was a small town then, … Continue reading →

This post concludes our short series that began with a review of the book Family Trouble: Memoirists on the Hazards and Rewards of Revealing Family. In the second, I recounted my own difficulties in Friend Trouble. In this final post, Josh … Continue reading →

By Fay McClurg  Thoughts after election day:  was it my fault? The Facebook ads from the Harris campaign had been threatening. I was being asked to imagine waking up on November 6 to the nightmare that d.t. won the election. … Continue reading →

Today I offer Renee Lajcak’s essay, read by the author. Why? Because Renee writes sometimes to be read, and sometimes to read aloud, because she enjoys performing her pieces. “There’s a difference in how I write for spoken word,” says … Continue reading →